The Art of Time Management - A Guide to Planning your Day

Time is our most precious commodity, yet many of us do not invest it intentionally.

We often find ourselves scrolling aimlessly on social media, working on other people's to-do lists, or letting impulses dictate our day.

Assuming you're using a calendar (since you're reading this newsletter), are you truly harnessing its power to curate your days?​

This edition of Threefold Tuesday delves deep into the art of time management through calendar blocking. Let's unpack!​

1. Are You a Maker or a Manager?​

Before diving into calendar blocks, you need to determine your profile.

​The distinction between a "maker" and a "manager" was popularized by Paul Graham, and it's a crucial one when it comes to scheduling our time.

• Makers:
  ​Artists, writers, developers. Their productivity relies on large chunks of undisturbed time and flow state to immerse in their craft.

• Managers:
  ​Those who operate in one hour slots, moving from meeting to meeting, often overseeing processes and people.

By identifying where you are on the maker-vs manager spectrum, you already gain a basic insight of how to structure your time more effectively.

2. What's your ideal week?

Start by listing the activities of your ideal (work)day. Write down whatever comes up.​

Next, try to group the activities into broad categories like admin, deep work, recovery, cooking, hobbies, or workouts.

Finally, slot them into your calendar, tailored to your maker or manager profile.

Repeat this process for the entire week.

Some tips:

• Don't make your calendar your to-do list

• Schedule recovery breaks after at least every 90-minute bout of work

• Wake up and go to bed at the same time every day for optimal sleep hygiene

• Maintain flexible and avoid being hyper-specific

• Schedule time for admin like email and paperwork

Here's how my ideal Monday looks like:

As you can see, I have three types of offices to keep me focused throughout the day, each with their own function:

• Walking office for admin

• Flow office for deep work and focus

• Balcony office for research and learning

Personal insight: When I examined my ideal week against my actual Outlook and Teams usage, the difference was stark. This realization pushed me to be much more intentional with admin.

3. What's your daily highlight?

​If you have set objectives, tactics and strategies for your life and career, you will likely know what your priority is for a given day.

​Every evening, ask yourself: "What's the one thing I can do tomorrow, such that by doing it I will make achieving my objectives easier?"

This One Thing becomes your daily highlight which you need to prioritize in your calendar. Personally, I work on my daily highlight in one of my 'flow office' blocks.

If you're a maker, assign half a day to it. If you're a manager, schedule 60-90 minutes.

You will see that doing this brings clarity amidst the noise, gives you momentum even if everything else goes sideways, and forces you to evaluate what truly matters on any given day.

So, time management is more than just lists and alarms. It's about intentional living. With time blocking and these principles, you're not just managing time; you're curating it.​

I'd love to hear your thoughts - reply to this email or tweet at me @Sandrerooo.

Fun Fact of the Week

Have you ever heard about the Zeigarnik Effect?

The phenomenon, named after Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, states that interrupted tasks weigh on your mind more than completed ones.​

She made this observation back in the 1920s while watching waiters remember unpaid orders better than paid ones.

​Here's the twist: Zeignarik and McKinney found that students who intentionally interrupt their study sessions for unrelated activities (like taking a walk) benefit from this effect.​

Because the study task is left 'unfinished', the brain continues to process the information subconciously. So, when students return to the task, they often find better retention and understanding.​

So how do you leverage this effect? Here are some practical examples:

• Take recovery breaks while learning or focusing​

• Capture all your tasks on to-do lists in a second brain such as Notion​

• Add progress bars and shopping cart reminders to your website

• Add teasers and cliffhangers to your content

• Start doing something for just 2 minutes, and you will feel the urge to complete it (tip from Atomic Habits)

Quote of the Week

Here's a good example of Charlie Munger's 'Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome':

​Most governments around the world run persistent fiscal deficits, because politicians are incentivized to focus on making the public happy over a 2-5 year period, not a multi-decade period.

Cutting spending and/or raising taxes to run a fiscal surplus is pretty unpopular to do unless the economy is exceptionally strong.​

Politicians that try fiscal austerity tend to not remain in power long, and so it’s a self-selecting process towards more spending and/or less taxation, and thus larger deficits.​

By Lyn Alden on Lynalden.com​

Have a great week!

Sandrero