How I Time-Block (Step-By-Step)
Plus: Burnout vs. Boreout
In this letter:
⏰ Dig into time-blocking with a step-by-step approach.
😫 Learn the difference between burnout and boreout.
📖 Enjoy the latest posts from the LinkedIn Career Content Library.
📅 Grab a pre-built learning plan for the week.The Truth About Time-Blocking
Here’s the deal:
👉 Time-blocking is hard.
It’s one thing to say you’re going to prioritize tasks and calendar your time. It’s another to execute amidst all the chaotic moments life throws at us.
Fire drills at work
Sick kids at home
Unexpected pings and emails
These interruptions make time-blocking a nearly impossible task.
And they cost us valuable productivity.
Should we toss out time-blocking, then?
Absolutely not.
Instead, I’d advocate for a more nuanced stance. Recognize the limitations of this productivity technique and work daily to refine your process.
To help, here’s how I approach time-blocking.
Borrow anything that’s valuable.
P.S.
New to time-blocking? Give this guide a read.
Step 1: Predictable Unpredictability
I start with an honest assessment.
👉 When am I going to struggle to get deep work done?
There are certain hours of the day when life consistently gets in the way. Or work demands from your boss and peers ramp up.
Morning routines with small children
Common hours for meetings or pings
Times of the day when your focus drags
Factor these hours into your time-blocking approach. Don’t wait to be frustrated by your lack of productivity. Give yourself grace instead.
How to put this to work:
Track your daily rhythm for a week or two.
Keep a work journal (what happened and when).
Look for patterns.
My approach:
7am to 9am
I'm getting my kids ready for school and dropping them off. This time also often fills with small errands (filling the car with gas) and any urgent client deliverables.
5pm to 7pm
This time overflows with a sit-down dinner, getting my kids ready for bed, and "special time" with the family. No work in sight.Step 2: Top Priorities
Next, I look for high-probability deep work hours.
👉 This is where I align my priorities for the day.
Chaotic hours aren’t a good fit for deep work. You’re more likely to get distracted than make meaningful progress. And you’ll wind up frustrated.
Instead, look for:
Early morning hours (when distractions are less likely)
Late afternoon hours (especially if you’re working with folks in an earlier time zone)
Treat these hours as precious. Don’t fill them with mindless tasks that can wait until later.
How to put this to work:
Identify your Urgent and Important tasks (use the Eisenhower Matrix).
Reserve them for dedicated deep work hours.
Ruthlessly trim low-priority tasks from this time.
My approach:
5am to 7am
I've never been a morning person. Ever. But knowing my 7am to 9am slot will be filled with chaos, I've started getting up at 5am most mornings. This is completely protected deep work time.
1pm to 3pm
After lunch, I generally get a burst of energy. My kids are napping, so I grab a kombucha (little kick of caffeine) and dive into any priorities that escaped the early morning hours.How to protect your deep work time:
📌 Turn your phone to Do Not Disturb mode.
📌 Set Slack or Teams to “Busy.”
📌 Close any distracting windows or apps.
And if you can grab the same hours each day:
📌 Let your team know when you’ll be heads-down.
📌 Say “no thanks” to meetings and requests during this time.
📌 Grab a quick and healthy pick-me-up (like my kombucha).
Step 3: Flex Time
I’m a big fan of flex time.
👉 Hours that are protected and loosely assigned.
The reality is:
Sizing work efforts is hard.
Work often takes longer than we anticipate.
We need space to fill in the gaps.
Mapping every minute of the day, then, isn’t going to be a winning strategy. At least, that’s not how it works for this flawed human over here.
So, instead, be flexible and iterate.
How to put this to work:
Block multi-purpose time.
Adjust periodically throughout the day.
Be willing to step away for a break when needed.
My approach:
12pm to 1pm
This is my midday reflection period. I take a quick inventory of my priorities and how the day has gone so far. With several hours left, I can easily pivot and get more done.
4pm to 5pm
This is my most common multi-purpose time. I block it for a mentally-relaxing activity, like playing the piano. But about 50% of the time, it's filled with carryover work or cleaning the house.Step 4: Don’t Miss Twice
Productivity expert, James Clear, has a great mantra:
👉 Don’t miss twice.
When it comes to habit-building, there will inevitably be times when you stumble. You don’t get as much done as you wanted. You slack off. Whatever.
It happens.
But don’t let it happen twice. Don’t let it sabotage the entire rest of the day. Instead, jump back into your time-blocking routine and adjust.
How to put this to work:
Recognize when you’ve gotten off track.
Create milestone check-ins throughout the day (try Gretchen Rubin’s Four Quarters Method).
Immediately jump back in.
My approach:
Daily Assessment
I use a variation of the Four Quarters Method to check-in throughout the day. My wife and I hold a morning stand-up. Then, I do a pulse check at noon and another right before shifting to family time.
Weekly Assessment
Every Sunday, I look back at the week. Ask: "What worked and what didn't?" From there, I adjust my time-blocking approach to more accurately reflect where I am in my productivity journey.To Wrap
I’m human. You’re human.
Perfect time-blocking is for non-humans.
That doesn’t mean we should throw it out.
Adjust with:
Predictable Unpredictability
Top Priorities
Flex Time
Don’t Miss Twice
Do this, and you’ll see serious improvements in your work productivity. You’ll power through the day, avoid distractions, and get more done.
Stimulation Up, Stimulation Down
By now, we’re all familiar with the term “burnout.”
A mental state defined by:
A lack of interest
Feelings of exhaustion
Anxiety and depression
But what’s the opposite of burnout? What does it look like to lack stimulation (instead of having too much)?
The answer: boredom.
—
In a recent article from Ness Labs, author Anne-Laure Le Cunff breaks down the two ends of the stimulation spectrum.
It looks like this:
In everyday life, there are times when we’re overstimulated and times when we’re understimulated.
Overstimulation leads to high stress.
Understimulation leads to aimlessness.
Neither is optimal.
—
To help address these situations of burnout and boreout, here’s my playbook. Tactical steps for adjusting to the stimulation of life.
When I’m feeling burned out:
Reduce the workload. There’s almost always something that can be cut. I start with low-priority tasks that can be eliminated, automated, or delegated. Then, I look to tasks that can be pushed back with minimal impact. Lastly, I adjust some of my ambitious goals to introduce more downtime.
Mental health activities. To recenter, I reach for tried-and-true mental health boosts. Daily walks. Meditation. Relaxed reading time. Yoga. These activities all help me refresh and recharge.
When I’m feeling bored:
Get outside my comfort zone. I love the feeling of forward progress. Taking small, daily steps toward big, ambitious goals. These steps pull me into unknown territory and lead to unexpected results. When I’m feeling bored, it’s most often because I’ve slipped back into comfort.
Connect with new people. People are an endless source of stimulation. Some good and some bad. When I’m feeling bored, one tactic I reach for is seeking out more good people. I’ll jump on LinkedIn and start engaging or reach out to someone I’ve admired but never met.
—
Top line:
Much of life is about balance.
Finding a state where your mind is:
Engaged
Challenged
Not overloaded
This requires stimulation management.
It requires recognizing when you’re over or understimulated and adjusting your approach accordingly.
What steps do you take?
Update: The LinkedIn Career Content Library
This week, the library added 5 new posts. There are now 335 career-boosting posts available anytime.
Here’s what is new:
Ruben Hassid spotlights LinkedIn’s newest AI-powered feature for job seekers. In this post, he shares a clip of the job search tool in action, along with a step-by-step guide. If you’re on the hunt, keep an eye out for these features coming to a LinkedIn near you.
Will Rippetoe breaks down the art of the internal transfer. Want to land a new role in your current company? You need to connect with hiring managers. In this post, Will offers a sample email and tips on how to connect.
Christopher Rocas compiles must-have career wisdom into a single post. Tips like “overinvest in soft skills” and “systematize your goals” can help you elevate to the next stage of your career. See all 9 pieces of wisdom here.
Dan Mian offers 5 simple strategies to help you be proactive in your job search. From reaching out to employees and hiring managers to becoming highly targeted with your applications, this post can help you own your results and score an awesome new role.
Kate Sotsenko shares a scary stat: 59% of workers don’t believe 1:1s impact their performance. If you’re leading 1:1s, don’t be part of that trend. Instead, focus on factors like relationships and growth to turn 1:1 time into actionable results.
Friendly reminder. As a Develop Daily subscriber, you have free lifetime access to The LinkedIn Career Content Library. My gift to you.
Develop Daily w/ This Learning Plan
Sunday:
Pull up your calendar; block 15 minutes for learning each day.
Set a (stretch) goal for the week.
Lay a strong foundation with this growth mindset affirmation:
“I am grateful for my strengths and weaknesses, as they help me grow.”
Monday:
Start by time-blocking your week.
Walk through each of the 4 steps outlined in this letter. Set realistic goals for how you’ll manage time throughout the week.
Make sure to build in time to develop daily.
Tuesday:
Check out Is it burnout or boreout?
Think about your most common stimulation state. Do you tend to be over or understimulated?
Write a short plan for how you’ll address stimulation this week.
Wednesday:
Revisit your time-blocking.
How has the week gone so far? Are there adjustments you need to make?
Write down your actionable takeaways. Keep a running list of your work actions and times your schedule has broken down.
Thursday:
Return to the topic of burnout and boreout.
Prepare a list of your favorite ways to address each scenario. Keep it somewhere you can easily access (like a Notion page).
Take one small action to help recenter your week.
Friday:
Share your takeaways from the week with a friend or colleague.
Strike up a 15-minute discussion on a key topic.
Seek out 1-2 resources that argue the opposite point.
Saturday:
Explore freely.
Pull up LinkedIn, your favorite newsletter, or head to the library.
Spend 15 minutes learning something new.
Impact: By the end of the week, you'll have (1) refined your time-blocking approach to improve productivity, and (2) started engaging in stimulation management. You'll also have addressed common mental health challenges and planned a simple mindset strategy.
Total Investment: <2 hours