World Mental Health Day was last week, and this year’s theme probably resonates with most of us.
It is time to prioritize mental health in the workplace.
According to the World Health Organization, almost 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition each year. If you feel like your mental health has taken a hit and you don’t know where to start, we’ve got a few ideas to share with you.
Mental health struggles are unique but not uncommon
The mental health challenges you experience are uniquely your own—everyone is managing a unique set of stressors that depends on their life circumstances. But you’re not alone, as mental health struggles impact millions of people across the globe. Close to 20% of Americans have an anxiety disorder, and 10% suffer from depression. That doesn’t even include undiagnosed mental health conditions and the general stress and anxiety you may experience from day to day.
Research has found that learning time management strategies can help improve anxiety, depression, and even sleep quality. This is why I’d argue that time blocking, one of the most popular time management methods, isn’t just a productivity tool—it’s a way to improve your mental health.
What is time blocking?
Time blocking is a time management technique that involves breaking your day into chunks of time, each dedicated to a specific task. This method encourages you to singularly focus on one responsibility at a time. When you time block your day, you schedule every minute, including time for deep work, shallow tasks, reactive tasks, and (importantly) breaks.
We dive deep into the how-to of time blocking in this post, but the gist is that you:
- Audit your time for a week to get a clear picture of how you spend your time.
- List your priorities and goals you want to achieve.
- Create a bookend template for your day that outlines how you start and end each day.
- Set aside time for Deep and Shallow tasks; typically 3-4 hours of deep work is ideal.
- Add blocks for reactive tasks like answering messages, as well as blocks for breaks.
- Write down your to-do list and place tasks into blocks. Aim to schedule a day at a time.
Here are a few ways time blocking can reduce your stress and improve your mental health.
Time blocking helps you feel less overwhelmed
I can vividly remember one afternoon I was gifted the opportunity for a 30-minute nap. A quick power nap is a great way to refresh yourself and push through the rest of the day, but I didn’t actually get that 30 minutes of rest, because the first 20 minutes of the nap were squandered on thinking. I was specifically thinking about my one-year-old twins’ upcoming birthday party. Who I still needed to invite. When to order food. How we would entertain guests. My list of concerns went on and on.
You’ve probably had those moments yourself. There is so much to do, you have no idea where to get started or what to tackle first. That feeling is what makes time blocking so valuable in managing your mental load. It eliminates the feeling of needing to do it all right now. During each block, you know exactly what you’re supposed to be working on, and that’s where your attention will stay. You can deal with everything else later.
Time blocking increases your focus
Have you ever been in the car with someone who can’t pick a radio station? They try one for a few seconds, then another, then another. It’s maddening. It’s exhausting. It’s enough to seriously consider throwing them out the car window.
You do the same thing to your brain when you jump from thought to thought or task to task. The constant context switching prevents your mind from settling into a single task. It slows your thinking, steals your attention, and reduces your decision-making abilities. Research has also shown that frequent interruptions to your work can result in increased frustration and higher stress levels.
Deep work, however, concentrates your mind on a single project. It allows your brain to work at its maximum potential, and as a result, you can produce quality work at a faster rate. A recent article from the Harvard Business Review emphasizes that a rhythm of deep work can be especially beneficial to workers who experience episodic mental health challenges like depression or bipolar disorder. Having well-established work habits helps you retain a more productive routine when you’re going through your low periods.
Time blocking reduces decision fatigue
The average person makes 35 thousand decisions every day. It’s no wonder we’re mentally exhausted. Time blocking alleviates decision fatigue by providing you with predefined tasks. Granted, you still have to decide what to do in each block, but by planning out your schedule the night ahead, there’s far less pressure to decide what you have to do right now.
Time blocking also provides consistency in your routine. As you settle into a groove, you’ll likely find that your days and weeks begin to follow a certain rhythm. Email is always checked at three specific times. Meetings are grouped on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every Friday morning you work from a local coffee shop. Knowing what’s going to happen without having to constantly make that choice gives your mind a well-deserved break.
Even when you time block your day, decisions are going to need to be made and decision fatigue can set in. One psychiatrist suggests making the most important decisions early in the morning, because “the morning is when we make the most accurate and thoughtful decisions, and we tend to be more cautious and meticulous.” Knowing that you can plan for focused work blocks earlier in the day before your brain says it refuses to make even one more decision.
Time blocking encourages you to set clear boundaries
Work can have a way of bleeding into your personal life, especially if you work from home. Time blocking functions as a line in the sand. This side is for work, and that side is for personal time. You’re less prone to cross that line when you know exactly where it is. And you know that if you do cross that line, there will be consequences; either your work will suffer or your personal life will.
In addition, scheduled breaks are a critical part of time blocking. It’s easier to step away from your work and give your mind a chance to recharge when there is dedicated time to do so. On the flip side, a scheduled break has a clear ending. You can avoid getting frustrated with yourself when you realize that a ‘quick’ break turned into a 30-minute gossip session with your colleague. As Cal Newport writes, “When you work, work hard. When you’re done, be done.”
Time blocking provides a sense of accountability
The structured format of time blocking requires you to determine what you’re supposed to be doing during each chunk of time. That makes it insanely easy to recognize when you’re not on task. If 8-10 am is blocked off to work on a pitch deck for your new prospect, it’s immediately obvious when you pick up your phone and start scrolling Instagram that you’re not sticking to the schedule.
If you want to up the ante on your accountability, block in focused work with other people. Body doubling, a strategy often used by people with ADHD, involves working alongside others to complete a task. Scheduling time to work together holds you accountable to working during that time, and the presence of someone else, even a virtual presence, motivates you to stay on task. Having someone else around may even help scratch your itch for social interaction.
Each week, RescueTime hosts free guided focus sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You join an online community of other people who are seeking to engage in a period of deep work. Sessions include scheduled breaks and the chance to share what you’re working on and what you ultimately accomplished.
Time blocking enhances your productivity
By now we’ve clearly established that when you successfully follow a time-blocked schedule, you work when you need to work and play when it’s time to play. For a lot of us, that’s all it takes to see a serious boost in productivity.
The average worker checks their communication tools like email or Slack every 6 minutes, and almost a third average just 3 minutes between checks. This constant back-and-forth steals productivity. You either end up with a lot of unfinished tasks or watch as your 8-hour workday balloons into a 10-hour workday.
Imagine looking back at almost every day and thinking, “Wow, look at all I accomplished today.” It’s going to be quite the serotonin boost. An increase in productivity also gets rid of the anxiety associated with an impending deadline. No more racing to beat the clock—you’re already done.
Resources for time blocking
The right resources can make time blocking accessible for almost everyone. Here are some of our favorites:
Google Calendar
Planner people, this one’s for you.
You can’t ignore the fact that a color-coded, fully blocked Google Calendar just looks great.
But the practical side of Google Calendar is even more impressive. When you time block with the tool, you can—
- color code tasks
- schedule Focus Sessions and have RescueTime block distracting apps and websites
- set up recurring events so you only put them into your calendar once
- include links to tasks
- set up out-of-office time where meeting invites are automatically declined
- set up notifications, like a reminder 10 minutes before a meeting or when you need to leave for an appointment
Todoist
Todoist is a task management application. Like Trello, it’s great for batching tasks so that you work on similar responsibilities during a set time block. Todoist integrates with Google Calendar so you can access your tasks from inside your calendar. If you go that route, you’ll end up seeing something like this—
Trello
Trello is a popular project management tool that uses a visual cad and board system to help organize tasks. I’ll be honest, it’s great for the task management portion of time blocking, but not stellar for the actual timing aspect, unless you opt for the TrackingTime power up. TrackingTime is free, and It includes a time blocking feature that ends up looking something like this–
The feature allows users to block their schedules and sync their calendars with others.
RescueTime
Staying focused on deep work doesn’t come naturally for most of us. To make things a little easier on you, Rescue Time offers Focus Sessions, which are periods of time that you choose to dedicate to focus work on your computer. When you begin a Focus Session, RescueTime blocks desktop apps and websites that you’ve scored as Personal Activities on your Activities page and keeps track of how well you’re concentrating.
When you begin a Focus Session you’re able to customize the settings, with choices like:
- which websites and apps should be blocked
- how long your session should last
- which Spotify playlist you want to listen to (if you have Spotify Premium)
You’re also reminded to prepare your environment and body—clear your workspace, head to the bathroom, and put your phone away.
Notion
In the world of productivity tools, Notion is a Renaissance man. You can use it for note-taking, workplace collaboration, and database management. On the time blocking side of things, it also offers task management. Templates are available for almost anything, like this daily time blocking template.
“Deep Work” by Cal Newport
Professor Cal Newport dives into the how and why of deep work in his Wall Street Journal business bestseller. He recommends four rules that help you fight against distraction and teach yourself to stay cognitively engaged when you’re working:
- Work deeply
- Embrace boredom
- Quit social media
- Drain the shallows
Amazon reviews say things like:
“There are techniques that work, make sense, and can be practiced by anyone. If you follow them even in part, you’ll have a big leg up on everyone else.”
“This book is a must-read for anyone who does knowledge work of any kind and wants to live a meaningful life in our age of distraction.”
“A real eye opener on the importance of allocating time to do deep work; work which ultimately leads to a more enjoyable life with more meaning.”
If you want to make the most of your focused work time, this book may be worth a read.
Supporting your mental health requires daily effort
Good mental health is a culmination of many things: a healthy diet, good sleep habits, frequent social interaction, daily exercise, and techniques for coping with stress. There are going to be very few days where you manage to do everything perfectly, but with strong time management skills, you can (mostly) stick to healthy habits that help you manage stress and maintain your mental health.
