Time Blocking - What You Need to Prioritize Your Social Media Strategy
Ever wondered why some people always look busy but not productive whilst others seem to stay organized and on top of their to-dos? Well, it’s a secret that a few organized kept from many of us until recently. Ladies and gentlemen, let me school you the art of Time Blocking.
What’s Time Blocking
If there is one thing working in the social media industry has taught us, 24 hours is not enough time! Developing a sound content strategy, making sure posts are going out daily, leaving meaningful posts on your feed at a certain time, trend searching, and submitting that report on time can all be overwhelming. This is when time blocking comes into play a technique that allows you to set aside chunks of time to tend to each task on your to-dos.
Imagine having to batch content, respond to emails, attend meetings, respond to comments, and leave meaningful comments on your feed all in one day! This might seem chaotic. Some tasks might take longer (than they should) to complete. In this case, you need to look at the overall tasks you have for the day and how they are spread throughout the day. Then block a firm chuck of time for each task. Batching content say for a week or two requires more time and concentration, you need to find a time when you are most productive to complete this task. If you are an early bird, blocking a chunk of time in the morning say, 2 hours dedicated to content batching will have you accomplish more than jumping between batching content and responding to emails. Think of how much you get done minus the stress and chaos.
Benefits Of Time Blocking
Now that you have an understanding of what time blocking is let’s dive deep! Time blocks can be used for deep work when you want to focus on a certain task and produce quality results. It's also effective in minimizing distractions meaning less room for errors. If planning is not your forte then time blocking is a must-learn technique! It helps you determine and prioritize tasks according to your personal workflow. Not a morning person? No worries! Batch the less complicated tasks like responding to emails for the mornings and leave developing a content strategy for the afternoons or the evenings! Being busy does not mean being productive right? Juggling 2 or more tasks at once leaves a high chance of making errors. At the same time also leads to burnout.
Ok. Enough Talking More Action
Step 1: When Are You Most Productive?
Figuring out when you are most productive is key when it comes to this technique! We weren't created the same and that’s the “it” that makes us unique. Find a time when your focus levels are low then block that time for tasks that don't require your undivided attention, eg responding to comments. Make sure to respond to all comments during this time and clear this task off! Each task must be completed in their respective time blocks.
Step 2: What Tasks Do You Need To Complete?
Tasks come in different forms of priorities and urgency, so you need to make a list, well in this case it acts as a plan. You can make it as fancy as making your lists on an electronic system or just simply writing them on a piece of paper!
Step 3: Priorities Your Tasks
What’s the importance and deadline of each task? This helps you understand which projects you should tackle first! You might use color coding or the number system to represent the priority of each task!
Step 4: Allocate Time For Each Task
How much time do you need to complete a certain task on your to-do list? Allocate time for each task, keep in mind it’s easy to misallocate time so make use of time-tracking apps to keep track of your time before you start time blocking.
Step 5: Evaluate Your Plan
After all the planning we need to make sure the plan is actually helping us get things done right? Go through your plan to check whether you have included all the important tasks for the day and whether you have allocated the right amount of time for each task. Still, some distractions are just unavoidable so block what we call the “flex time” where you cater for that urgent client call or meeting. Even so, some tasks might take more time than planned and you wouldn't want to rush them. So you cater to them from your flex time chunk!
Step 6: Implement Your Time Blocks
There are so many ways to manage your time blocks! You can go the easy route of using pen and paper or have time block management tools like Sunsama to get you on track in no time!
Alright, fellow social media managers, the next time you think of developing that social media strategy or creating that content calendar remember this technique and become part of the elite organized! What was your favorite tip from this time blocking technique, comment below!