Time Blocking Day Sheet

Who this is for

A day divided into blocks whose times you set yourself. Each block has a start and a finish, a purpose, a tick and a note; no clock times are printed, so the sheet fits a day that starts at six as well as one that starts at noon. A parked list at the foot catches what turns up mid-block.

People who work better when the day is divided into stretches with one purpose each — writers, developers, students, anyone whose day otherwise fills with interruptions.

What this helps you track

• Each stretch of the day, with the start and finish you chose for it
• What each block is for — one thing, named
• Whether the block happened as planned, and what got in the way
• The things that arrived mid-block and were parked rather than allowed in

How to use it

1. Write the date and the one thing the day is for at the top.
2. Decide the blocks: write a start and a finish time against each, as long or short as suits the work. Not every block has to be used.
3. Give each block one purpose, in a few words. A block with two purposes is two blocks.
4. When something arrives mid-block — a message, an idea, a request — write it in the parked list and carry on.
5. Tick each block as it finishes and note what happened if it did not go to plan. The parked list becomes tomorrow's raw material.
6. The browser version saves the sheet in your own browser; start a fresh one each day.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why are there no times printed?

Because a day that starts at six and one that starts at noon need different sheets, and a long block and a short one are both time blocks. You write the times; the sheet supplies the structure.

How long should a block be?

Whatever the work needs and your attention allows. There is no figure on the sheet — try a length, tick or note how it went, and adjust tomorrow.

What goes in the parked list?

Anything that would have pulled you out of the block if you had dealt with it then. Most of it can wait until the block ends, and some of it turns out not to need doing at all.

How does it fit with the weekly priorities planner?

The weekly sheet places the work across the week; this sheet takes one day of it and gives each piece a stretch of time.