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Last updated on September 15th, 2023 at 02:17 pm
After wasting so much time last year, it’s my mission this year to use my time well. As a homemaker, stay-at-home mom, and home educator, my best bet is to use time blocking to accomplish all I need to do each week. In fact, time blocking is a great scheduling strategy for homemakers.
It’s one thing to know what to do on specific days (you can learn about theme days here). But setting aside specific amounts of time throughout the day to accomplish these things makes my day much more productive.
As a homemaker, time blocking structures my day so that I use my time wisely and accomplish tasks associated with my goals.
Here’s how time blocking is beneficial for homemakers & stay-at-home moms …especially when doing tasks like decluttering & organizing.
What is time blocking?
Time blocking is deciding what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. It’s intentionally scheduling specific blocks of time to work on specific similar tasks. Instead of looking at the day hour-by-hour, you divide the day into blocks of time.
At first, this seems counter-intuitive …like you’re limiting your day by scheduling it instead of simply using a to-do list.
However, time blocking is like having rules for a game. Without rules, games aren’t fun —they’re just chaotic.
I’ve noticed that when I only use a to-do list, I only check off one or two things and wander around the house or scroll social media because it’s unclear what I should do next.
On the other hand, when I time block, I accomplish many more tasks on my to-do list.
For example, my theme day on Thursdays is Laundry & Batch Cleaning. These are not the only tasks I’m doing, however. I block about 2 ½ hours of time on Thursday afternoon to complete my Batch Cleaning. I have other blocks of time for my morning rhythm (this includes laundry on this particular day), work, homeschooling, and breaks.
Before I started time blocking, I’d dive straight into Batch Cleaning first thing in the morning and then I’d be too exhausted to do anything else. I’d only accomplish that one thing. Now, I block that time later in the day so I work on tasks that require deeper thoughts first.
Why time blocking works for homemakers & moms
As mothers, we are prone to interruptions and distractions by little humans. And that is exactly why I love the time-blocking strategy.
Mothers are very prone to multitasking, which study after study has proven to be ineffective and unproductive. There’s no getting around this in motherhood, so if I have my time blocked, I can easily get back to what I was working on instead of going off the rails.
If I’m in the middle of writing a blog post and get pulled away, I can go back to the same task because it’s in my block.
Interruptions are inevitable, so using this strategy helps me to get back on task.
Time-blocking strategies for homemakers
Some tasks require deeper thoughts or more physical energy. It’s best to schedule these blocks according to how much mental or physical energy you need.
For example, in this post, I recommend using the morning hours for decluttering and organizing because you do your best work in the morning.
In an earlier example, I mentioned that I use the afternoon to do my Batch Cleaning since I need more mental energy to homeschool earlier in the day.
The best strategy is to set time blocks for your priority tasks earlier in the day.
An example schedule for homemakers
Since I’ve already used Thursday as an example, here’s a sample of how I use time-blocking on that day:
7 am – 8 am: Morning Rhythm
8 am – 9 am: Work
9 am – 10 am: Get ready/breakfast routine, Morning Time
10 am – 11:30 am: Homeschool
11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Lunch & get outside
1 pm – 2:30 pm: Batch clean, finish laundry
3 pm – 4 pm: Work & play time
4:30 pm – 6 pm: Make dinner, have dinner
Evening wind down
How to start time blocking effectively
Step 01. The first step in effective time blocking is identifying the tasks needing completion. If you use theme days to structure your week, as discussed here, this step is made easier.
Step 02. Estimate or decide how much time to dedicate to the tasks in each block.
For instance, say your theme on Saturdays is decluttering but you don’t want to dedicate your entire Saturday to it. Instead, you block 30 minutes to declutter one small area, like under a cabinet or one shelf. Or, you decide to declutter a larger area using a 3-hour block of time. This way, you’re working toward your goal but it’s not taking over your entire day.
Step 03. Write down your time-blocking schedule in a planner. For this step, you can use a digital calendar like Google Calendar. I recommend using a physical planner, one with an hour-by-hour layout.
Why time blocking will help you declutter & organize
If you’ve been struggling to find time to declutter & organize, give time blocking a try.
You get to decide how much time to dedicate to it, so you’ll have an end time in mind. I’ve seen this work really well during client sessions —we only have 3 hours to complete an organizing project, so it gets done and over with.
If you don’t want to declutter & organize every day, try using a themed day, as suggested in this post.
To recap:
- Time blocking is intentionally scheduling specific blocks of time to work on specific similar tasks.
- Since multitasking & interruptions are unavoidable in motherhood, time blocking will help you return to tasks more easily.
- The best time-blocking strategy is to set time blocks for your priority tasks earlier in the day.
- Start time blocking by identifying priority tasks, deciding how much time to dedicate to them, and writing down your time-blocking schedule.
- Use time blocking to set a start and end time on decluttering & organizing so you don’t have to dedicate an entire day to it.
If you don’t know where to start, get the Where To Start Decluttering Guide to show you where to start and how to break down your project into smaller pieces. This is perfect for planning out what you’ll do during your decluttering time block!
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