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Fall New School Year
Free Time Blocking Printable

With the start of fall and the new school year, I am determined to start time blocking again. Whether you have this season a goal to serve healthy meals at dinner, have set homework time, or declutter the house, time blocking gives you your time back in the day.

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I love my electronics, my iPhone, IPad, Apple Computer (see a pattern here). I am so grateful that all of these devices keep me organized and on time, as well as prepared for the kids’ school events.  Using reminders, timers, and have my phone binging at me helps me not miss preparation for an event or be rushed to attend a school event. However, when I am home life’s everyday family tasks tend to distract me from my well-intended plans for bigger goals for our home and my life.

When the kids need a snack, the laundry and dishes need to be cleaned up, I get so distracted from my bigger goals. Time just seems to slip away from me.   This is why when I am home I rely on my printed time blocking sheets. I can put my time-blocking on the kitchen table and keep in the front of my mind what I want to accomplish for the week.

The Benefit of Time-Blocking

With time-blocking my routine family tasks get accomplished plus I make progress on my bigger goals.  For me, this is keeping up with my big goal of decluttering the house and home repairs (we have been in our house for 30 years, I know you can imagine the problem).  Also keeping up with my blogging schedule and all the little blogging updates and tasks can get forgotten in loads of laundry and kids’ schedules.

When we have a big event, vacation, friends dinner, or the holidays I time-block with each day being a single paper.  For the every day week, I use this two-page system that keeps me on track and from feeling overwhelmed.  Having a desire to make a fabulous and memorable family life for my kids and my husband on top of big dreams for this blog can be very overwhelming.  Making a rough plan each week and each weekend.

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Supplies Needed:

• Time-Blocking Printable – get your copy here
• A sturdy Card Stock
• Different Colored Pens: here are my favorite
• A cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate
• Some quiet time

Here are the Steps for Successful Time-Blocking

• Print out the free template Time Blocking Sheets:  I use a good card stock like this found here, that way your plan does not get lost in all the other papers.
• In one color pen write down all of the appointments, meetings, school functions that you do not have control of the time. These are set time-spaces that need to be filled in so you know where your free time is.
• In the same color pen put in pre-time and travel time. So if it takes you 30 minutes to load the car and get everyone to sports practice file in that 30-minute space.
• In a second pen, color write down the approximate time you will be cooking and eating meals. Make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare, eat, and clean up.
• At this point look at all of your blank 30-minute spaces. You may have 10 spaces or you may have one.
• Take some time to write down any personal goal, a big project, or a big goal. Do you want to find time to exercise, read your Bible, or start cleaning out closets and drawers? Depending on how many 30 minutes spaces you have open pick one or two of these goals and fill in the time you will dedicate to each or only one goal. Do not make this too overwhelming. You may only have three 30 minute spaces and your goal is to sit and read the book you bought 2 months ago.
• I have a big goal of decluttering our home and making home improvements. Each week I fill in my spaces with one small spot to declutter each week.  I have written a post on how I keep the momentum with “Declutter One Small Area a Week” (free printable included in the printable library)

The Goal of Time-Blocking

The goal of time-blocking is not to make you crazy and stressed that you did not get all you wanted to be done.  The goal is to get your ideas on paper and out of your mind so that you can make progress to any goal. Any progress no matter how small a is a success and I want to make that very clear.  For me seeing the time I have open and making a plan helps me to see that I do have control over my days.  It is so easy with kids, especially very little ones to feel out of control and a slave to the house and the kids. You may work outside the home full time and your only blocks are a few hours at night and on the weekends.  If this is your situation this process will help you not plan to do too much.

My Time-Blocking this Week

I filled out my time-blocking sheets right before I sat down to write this post and saw that in the next 4 days, I only have one 30 minute space and then only 4 on Sunday.  I left them all blank as I know life will get in the way and I did not want to stress myself out.  But I also realized that the next Tuesday and Thursday I have a lot of blank spaces.  I am going to use downtime driving or waiting for events during my busy days to plan these two more open days. I know I will be able to make progress on my big personal goals in these open spaces.

Let me know how you like to plan your days and if time-blocking helps lower your stress.

Other Post you may like:

“Declutter One Small Area a Week” (free printable included in the printable library)

“Declutter One Small Area a Week: Summer restart“