10 Best Time Blocking Templates in 2024 (Daily Notes, Weekly Vision, Retrospective)
Becoming a pro at time management has never been more accessible. With time blocking templates you will become an expert at organizing and making the most out of your day.
Keeping all the thoughts and ideas in your head can be overwhelming. Free up your head space and rely on time blocking templates that store all the information for you.
Getting everything done that you have planned for the day? With time blocking templates it is definitely possible.
No more catching yourself at the end of a day being frustrated that you haven't finished all your work. After reading this article, you will never find yourself in a situation like this again.
What are time blocking templates?
Time blocking is a very effective time management technique for scheduling tasks and activities. You do so by blocking off specific periods of time for each task. When you time-block, you divide your day into smaller blocks of time. You create “blocks of time” or “boxes” for your tasks. 1 block for a single task with assigned time. Every box has a period of time in which you should start and finish the task.
Time blocking template is a planning method. You have 3 types of time blocking methods to choose from: task batching, day theming (putting similar tasks together in one day) or time boxing - limiting the time you spend on a task.
Time blocking templates help you to manage your day and organize your life better and easier. Using time blocking templates you gain a clear structure for the day, you can see everything in one place, add, remove or edit your tasks quickly.
All your future projects are organized in one clear document.
Time blocking templates are a gift from the Heaven of Time Management.
How time blocking templates work?
Gone are the days of daily planners (although we all loved them), but now in our hyper ultra modern era there comes a new sophisticated and powerful tool….drum roll sound— such as Ayanza.
Not that paper diaries are not cute, but would you like to know what is even cuter? Being able to simply remove things from your calendar without smudging and destroying the whole page.
With digital tools you can schedule your day in a template and quickly edit, add and look at your beautiful and neat time blocks for the whole day, week or month.
You no longer need to be a master planner to get things done in seconds.
Think of your daily routine. Do you use your time wisely or do you catch yourself at the end of the day with a thought oh no, I didn't do anything that I wanted, I wasted so much of my time. This happened to me many times before. But not since I have been using Time blocking templates! Yay. Proud of myself and you can and will be too.
Imagine a to-do list, time blocking is similar, just that you divide your day into blocks and set a specific time in which the task should start and finish.
Time blocking reminds you of your schedule, deadlines, what is a priority and what is best to focus on. It is almost the same as a time table, just more perfect.
Basics of time blocking are pretty easy. Write down your goal list. Are you working on a demanding daily project? Mark this as your priority. Try to estimate how much time this task could take. It is very hard to estimate the exact time a task will take. That is why you can add a 30 minute buffer time to your tasks (the extra time added into a time estimate to keep a project on track for unpredicted situations).
Set a time limit for every task. The idea of a time limit can make you more productive and quicker.
Why are time blocking planners important?
Rushing everywhere, doing things in your life at the last minute, getting not enough sleep… is this your case? Mine used to be. I was the person whose life used to be a total spontaneous journey with no organization.
Sometimes I would plan things and write them down on paper (ancient times) and bring this paper with me so everyone could see my horrendous writing. Until one day time blocking planners came into my life and saved me. It was love at first sight. Now looking at my current life - getting better time management, burnout far away in a different galaxy. No, it is not a miracle I have found, nor did I reinvent a wheel.
Planning and planners have existed long before. Just look at the caves (one embarrassing joke done). I was just too lazy to write things and spend time on it. Thought It was useless and wasteful. But what really was wasteful was not dedicating my time to plan my future. Yes, planning can be challenging, but going to the extreme of doing things 1 minute before you are supposed to hand them over is even more challenging. What I am trying to say is that planning is better than doing things as they come,.and remember: Great things take time. They don't come from day to night or in 10 minutes. You have to brainstorm, take some time to consider all the possibilities and choose the best option.
Time planners give you an overall overview of all your plans. When you look at your weekly or monthly calendar you will see everything. It also ensures your work plans align with your bigger marketing goals.
It keeps your life in order and out of chaos. You get a clearer idea of what you want, and be able to create a vision and strategy. If you’re a marketer, time planners will get you to your destination. Aside from time planners, you can also tap into a content calendar template to organize your social media marketing efforts and conquer every available communication channel your customers prefer using.
When you think ahead and prepare your future days you gain clarity and order in your days. Your mind can be peaceful and your time is spent more effectively. You feel better and more confident, because you know you spend your days actively and purposefuly.
Your days become more productive and fulfilling.
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort. We should all listen to Paul J. Meyer, founder of the company whose purpose was to help people develop management skills.
Time blocking templates make organizing your daily activities extra simple. You will learn how to better self-manage yourself and your work on a professional level. Organizing time is no longer a pain but a pleasure to do. You can finally.breathe easily. Time blocking gives you a space to organize your priorities, projects and tasks. Knowing that your projects and tasks are in order is pure joy.
Combining time planners with AI task manager saves you a lot of time every day because after finishing each task, you don't have to decide what to do next. Everything is already written in your time blocking template.
It improves your focus because you know exactly what to do and when just by looking at your template. It also prevents you from task switching.
Plus, since a digital planner does most of the work for you, you will have more energy on other things.
10 time-blocking templates
Templates that are professional yet effortless and smooth to use:
1. Ayanza daily notes time blocking template
This template will surely brighten up your day. It is such a joyous template because it is not focused on time limits rather on mindfulness and introspection. With questions such as What Is Inspiring You today? What Are You Learning Today? What are your victories? You will realize how powerful you are.
We can even call it healthy self-monitoring since you write down your thoughts and feelings.
Best for: Someone like you who wants to have a successful day and positive mind.
Pro tip: Sync your Google Calendar with Ayanza
Download this template: Ayanza Daily Notes Time Blocking Template
2. Ayanza weekly vision time blocking template
What do you want to achieve in the next few days? What needs to be done? What are your work goals? What personal changes would you like to start? A space where you can think of and write about all your projects, work or personal related stuff.
Best for: Motivated people who want to work on self-management.
Download this template: Ayanza Weekly Vision Time Blocking Template
3. Ayanza retrospective time blocking template
Look back at your week. What went well, what can be improved or could have been done differently? What Have I Learned This Week? Do I Have Any Action Points In Mind?
Best for: A self-aware individual who wants to get better every day and keeps moving forward and making progress.
Download this template: Ayanza Retrospective Time Blocking Template
4. Ayanza monthly time blocking template
Create your tasks in seconds. Yes, it is possible. Plan your weeks in a monthly template. The best thing about this template is that you can personalize it and write down any note that you want.
Best for: Personalized content for highly determined professionals.
Download this template: Ayanza Monthly Time Blocking Template
5. Ayanza time blocking list template
Our daily time is limited, so we need to think about organizing it wisely. Remember, it is not just work that needs to be done. Make sure that you spend enough time relaxing out of work. Schedule some time for a break in your weekly planner, it is very important for your physical and mental health.
Organize your tasks by just clicking on a due date and assignee. What is the priority of this task, is it low, medium or high? Choose the status of the task - in review, to do or in progress.
Best for: Team members or team leaders that want a clear vision of their tasks.
Download this template: Ayanza Time Blocking List Template
6. Google sheets weekly time-blocking calendar template
Google Sheets Weekly Time-Blocking Calendar Template. As long as German words, no it is not German, it is just a very complicated way to call a tool that will actually simplify your life. Why would someone create such a long and mysterious word for something that should make your life easier? I know, I know you might be as confused as I am when I saw this word. I was like why? English is one of the easiest languages in the world so why do we want to change it?
In human language….Google Sheets Weekly Time-Blocking Calendar Template is a time blocking template that is hella effective. You can plan your entire week in a weekly planner.Your weekly time is divided into days ranginging from Monday to Friday. Each day starts at 7 in the morning and finishes at 11 pm. A 1 hour interval is set for all your daily tasks.
Download this longest name template ever: Google Sheets Weekly Time Blocking Calendar Template
7. Google sheets monthly time-blocking calendar template
Think a couple of weeks ahead, what needs to be finished by the end of the month? What would you like to achieve? Where would you like to see yourself? Preparation is key. With Google Sheets Calendar Template you can set a specific time frame for your actual and future tasks.
Download: Google Sheets Monthly Time-Blocking Calendar Template
8. Excel monthly time-blocking template
Get full control of your monthly time with this template.
Download here: Excel Monthly Time-Blocking Template
9. Excel weekly time-blocking template
Excel scares many people. But this time block schedule template is friendly-to-use. Who would have thought you can even make a daily schedule in Excel? Designed to meet your own needs. This weekly planner template structures your daily activity.
Download and use for free: Excel Weekly Time-Blocking Template
10. Paper-based time blocking templates
A good old diary. Yes, it is useful, just that you need extra space to carry it with you everywhere, therefore it is much more convenient to have a digital diary, such as Ayanza in your phone. Ideal for writing your daily notes, journaling can even jump-start productivity by leaps.
No matter what planner template you decide to use, you will surely soon see the benefits of time blocking.
How to plan time blocking with Ayanza
In Ayanza you can choose from various rhythms. They will all pump up your daily routine. Want to upgrade your morning routine? With daily standup you will get a quick boost of motivation and good mood.
As simple as ABC, visit our website, look at the right upper corner and click on Get Ayanza. Register, it will take just a few seconds.
On the left side of the screen, you will see two arrows - these are called rhythms. There are many to choose from - Daily notes, Daily sum, Retrospectives, Staff meeting.
Just choose the one that you fancy the most and start typing and look for answers within yourself. If you can't find the answer at the moment, our AI will help you.
Calendar view of a block schedule planner
Here´s a simple step-by-step guide for Ayanza planning in calendar view.
Takes less than 2 minutes:
Look at the left part of the screen. You will see “+ New space”.
Click on “+ New space”.
Now you will see a page “Untitled”
Click on the “Calendar”
Go to the right upper corner of the screen and click on the blue rectangle “+ Item”
After clicking on “+ Item”, simply start typing your task. You can choose as many features as you want and create as many tasks as you desire.
Done. You made it expertly.
Conclusion
We are sure that you already work hard as bees. But with time blocking, you can actually work less. Simply by planning more efficiently.
Things happen and you can't always control external circumstances. But what you can control is your own time and daily routines. It is difficult to predict distractions, but you can prepare. Being one step ahead is crucial.
Time blocking is definitely worth trying. Whether you are a business owner, student or working professional, you will get a lot out of this time management technique.. It doesn't hurt, it can only bring relief into your life. Whatsmore time blocking templates are for free.
They help you to keep track of your tasks, projects and can raise your level of productivity. By implementing time blocking into your life you will create a healthy habit. Since you will no longer have to spend hours deciding, or being in stress from too much work, your mental health will significantly improve. You will also get better at task organizing, learn how to prioritize, and be more focused. No regular employee, seems like someone is heading to the employee of the month. Yeah, you.
FAQ
What are some tips for time blocking?
Start with writing a to-do list with your personal and professional tasks that you want to get done during that day, week or month. What category do they belong to? Are they Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent but Not Important, or Not Urgent and Not Important? Identify priorities. Prioritizing tasks based on their importance and urgency is key.
Your list should not be too long, to avoid feeling under pressure. Put the urgent tasks on top and less important on the bottom. Begin with priority tasks. Think about how much time you will need to complete a task. Always add buffer time (the extra time added into an estimated time). When it comes to demanding tasks, break them down into smaller steps. It will be easier to estimate the time. Set the time interval for each task. When you start with time blocking you can be too optimistic estimating the time and thinking it will take less time than in reality. Therefore it is useful to double your estimates, so you won't be surprised or get into time pressure.
No more multitasking. Instead of jumping from task to task, it is more beneficial to focus on 1-2 tasks intensively, your work will be of better quality. Create blocks of time and focus on the most important tasks. Try to dedicate only a short period of time for additional and administrative tasks, such as writing emails or responding to them.
No matter if you are planning a daily calendar or a 5-day work week, always remember that your personal time is also necessary.
Journaling practices mindfulness which leads to being more aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment. This relaxes your mind. Planning is a part of mindfulness. By doing it in the morning you are creating a perfect morning routine. It makes you ready to tackle the day ahead of you and everything that comes your way.
What are examples of time blocking?
Examples of time blocking are time chunking - focusing on one task. You split your workday into chunks of time. Each chunk is 30 minutes long. During one chunk, you work for 25 minutes non-stop, then you take a short break for 5 minutes (this is really important). I have read about a method with a 15 minute interval, but I do think the 30 minute interval is much better. You can get more into deep focus.
What approach to time blocking you decide to use depends on your preferences or a type of work. You can try them all and decide which one is the best for you.
No need to install or buy a time tracking app. In Ayanza you can add a time tracker to your tasks in one click. As efficient as that. Our time tracker tracks the amount of time spent on tasks and projects. It helps not only managers to track employee productivity but it is also a great helper for freelancers. As a freelancer or consultant you want to accurately bill your work to your clients. Time tracker works as a proof of how much you have truly worked.
Daily planner is another tool where you can organize and plan your daily activities, tasks, and goals. A good daily planner should include space for tracking appointments, to-do lists, notes. It should be customizable and meet an individual's needs and preferences. Everything Ayanza has.
It is useful when your planner has a checkbox to fastly check off your tasks when they are completed. You can set the priority of the task - low priority, medium, high or critical. Personalize your calendar and use only those features you want.
Overall, a daily planner is a great method of productivity to stay super organized and highly concentrated throughout the day.
All these time management methods will drive you closer to your desired objectives.
Which types of tasks does block scheduling work best for?
It will work for many areas and tasks in your life. To be specific, block scheduling can be used for tasks that require extended focus and concentration, such as studying, creative work, work projects, or even fitness routines.