How to Reduce Creative Stress by Re-building Your Schedule in Blocks
Ever find yourself trying to do too many things at once?
Being a creative professional is a beautifully chaotic life.
We’re tasked with solving complex creative problems, all while balancing the mundane but pragmatic side of our days.
I’ve found myself bouncing between emails and drawing and management more times than I’d like to admit. It feels like the only way to be successful is either to clone myself or to become a creative octopus.
Multi-tasking is a myth.
Every time you’re distracted by a call, a text, or a peer, it takes 15-20 minutes on average to get back to anything resembling a “flow” state.
We think we'll be more efficient by doing all the things at once.
In reality, the opposite is true.
We’re not really multi-tasking so much as task-switching. Our brains can’t focus on two intensive things at once. Instead, we trick ourselves into thinking it can.
Here’s an example:
Can you listen to a podcast while you’re working out?
Sure.Can you write a poem and answer an email at the same time?
Certainly not.
But since we believe that the only way to get everything done is to maximize how many things we’re doing simultaneously, we push forward anyway.
So how do we fix our time management problem?
Some thoughts:
Try as we may; we can’t clone ourselves.
There are a variety of tasks that need our attention daily.
Those types of tasks change from day to day.
We need a system that:
Allows us to get all the things done (analytical and creative)
Minimizes the amount of task-switching needed to do so
Remains flexible enough to adapt throughout the day or week
Enter Time Blocking.
Time Blocking 101
Simply put, you “Block” together items that have similar processes and do them for a set period of time.
While you’re in any given “block,” you only work on those types of tasks. Your brain has more opportunity to focus because it isn’t switching modes as often between the creative and the analytical.
Creative tasks like drawing or design problems take one mindset.
Analytical tasks like email or management take a different one.
How to Time Block in 5 Simple Steps
While there are many ways to time block, the most basic way I’ve found is to split your day into two halves.
Spend the first half of your day in creative mode, the second in analytical mode. Don’t get sucked in first thing by email. Let the administrative tasks go until later in the day. Focus on expending your primary creative energy on problem-solving, making, and building things.
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If you want to get even more granular with your time, follow these basic steps:
Plan your day into 1-2hour blocks at a time.
Create a theme around what type of activities you will try to get done in the block. Some examples include:
Creative - Drawing, Writing, Making
Planning - Project Schedule, Deliverable List, Staffing
Administrative - Billing, Contracts, HR
Focus - Complex Design Problem
Research - Technical Issues, New Methods
Communication - Email, Meetings, Chats, Texts, Calls
Create a list of the tasks you’d like to complete during the block in order of importance.
Work on one task at a time to completion, then move to the next.
Stop once the time is up and check whether you should:
Start a new block
Repeat the block
Take a short break
If a real emergency pulls you away from the block, stop, tend to it, and start a new block once it’s been dealt with. If it can wait, put the “emergency” into its own block and deal with it at a dedicated time you control.
With time blocking, your calendar in one day could start to look like this Architect-themed example:
8am to 10am - (Creative) - Draw a perspective design sketch
10am - to Noon - (Focus) - Develop a floor plan detail that resolves a code issue
1pm to 3pm - (Admin) - Review a contract for a prospective project
3pm to 5pm - (Communication) - Answer all emails and check in with your team
The real reason you need to Time Block
Time Blocking is an anti-stress tool you can use every day.
The above calendar example may not seem like much. You might say, “That’s not a lot of progress. It’s only four tasks!”
But consider the alternative:
8am - You show up to work knowing that all of the above needs to be completed before you leave.
8:15am - You get distracted by an email.
8:20am - You start something else.
9:10am - You get distracted again.
10am - You restart, but can’t remember exactly what you were trying to do earlier.
The cycle repeats for hours.
At the end of the day, it feels like you’ve done a lot.
In reality, you only did two of the tasks you set out to and now you’re at a higher level of stress because there’s “so much more for you to do tomorrow.”
In an age of endless interruptions, the true power of time blocking is taking back control of our time.
Say “No” to multi-tasking.
Say “Yes” to time blocking.
You’ll get more done and feel better about the process as you go.
TL; DR
Mult-tasking is a myth
Time Blocking puts similar tasks into a block of time
Plan your day in 1-2 blocks
Theme your blocks
Assign tasks to your blocks
Do the tasks in order to completion
Stop at the end of a block
Evaluate what to do next
Quote of the Week
Motivation for the days ahead of you.
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
— Carl Sandburg
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
