If you’ve spent any time studying productivity and time management, you’ve probably heard both of these techniques thrown around: “Time blocking” and “task batching.” Maybe you’ve even tried one or both and thought, “This is supposed to make my life easier?!” when the strategy failed to work for you.
But in my seven years as a WFH entrepreneur, I’ve learned that time blocking and task batching aren’t competitors. They’re collaborators – the ultimate productivity power couple! When used together, they can completely transform how you manage your workday.
I’ve written before about both strategies separately (time blocking here and task batching here), and I’ve lived them in real time, throughout my seasons of pre-parenthood, and now, as the mother to a preschooler. Today, I want to show you how time blocking and task batching can work together, and how you can start using them to get more done without burning out.
What’s the Difference Between Task Batching and Time Blocking?
Before we dive into the magic of combining these two strategies, let’s make sure we’re on the same page.
Time blocking is a scheduling method. You simply assign specific chunks of time to categories of work throughout your day or week. Instead of working from a reactive to-do list, you’re proactively deciding when certain types of work will happen. For example, Monday mornings might be reserved for deep work, while Tuesday afternoons are dedicated to meetings.
Task batching, on the other hand, is about grouping similar tasks together so your brain isn’t constantly switching gears. Instead of skimming the news headlines, answering two emails, drafting a social media caption, and then sending a client proposal, you sit down and knock out all of your social media content in one focused session.
See how naturally those two ideas connect?
Why Your Brain Will Thank You
Here’s a little productivity science: Every time you switch from one type of task to another, your brain pays a “switching cost.” It takes time and mental energy to reorient, refocus, and get back into a flow state. Plus, constant switching can drain your energy and increase the chances of making mistakes.
Think about the last time you took an unexpected phone call when you were working, or got sucked into your email inbox when you intended to make progress on a project. Those distractions and attempts to multitask are working against you and your productivity!
But when you combine time blocking and task batching, you’re essentially protecting your brain from constant context switching. You’re not just deciding when you’ll work – you’re deciding what kind of work you’ll do during that time!
As someone who squeezes a full-time business into part-time hours, while prioritizing a busy family life, I can tell you firsthand that this combination has been a game-changer!
How to Use Time Blocking and Task Batching Together
Ready to put this into practice? Here’s how to get started:
Step 1: Create Time Blocks
Open up your planner, Google Calendar, or whatever system you swear by, and start carving out dedicated chunks of work time throughout your week. These could be scattered throughout the day (like mine!) or sectioned out during a typical 8-hour workday in 1-2 hour chunks.
As a parent, my time blocks are pretty much decided for me, since I’m working with my daughter’s schedule. I only work during:
- Early mornings before she’s awake
- Preschool hours
- Nap times
If needed, I can work after bedtime or a few hours on the weekends when my husband is home. But those time blocks are only added on an “as needed” basis.
Step 2: Audit Your Tasks
Next, you need to know exactly what’s on your plate. Spend 10-15 minutes listing out all of your responsibilities. Think about content creation, client communications, administrative work, meetings, and all of the job-specific responsibilities you have.
It’s easiest to begin with tasks that recur every week and every month. Then, list out things that are one-off – or simply write “project work” or “deep work” so you can have time reserved.
Step 3: Group Similar Tasks Together
Now, look at your list and identify which tasks live in the same “mental neighborhood.” Administrative tasks go together. Creative brainstorming goes together. Meetings go together. Communication tasks (emails, Slack messages, etc.) go together.
These are your batches!
Step 4: Assign Your Batches to Time Blocks
Here’s where the two strategies officially become a team. Take your batches and plug them into your time blocks. A few things to keep in mind as you do this:
- Honor your energy levels. Schedule your most mentally demanding batches during the times of day when you’re naturally at your sharpest. For me, that’s early morning, before my daughter wakes up. I’m writing this blog at 5:30 a.m.!
- Group similar days, not just similar tasks. For example, I dedicate Tuesdays to email newsletters and Fridays to business growth work. When each day has a theme (or several), the batching almost happens automatically!
- Protect your deep work blocks fiercely. These are non-negotiable. No meetings, no “quick email checks,” no multitasking. Just focused, intentional work.
You don’t have to overhaul your entire schedule overnight. Pick one area of your business that feels chaotic – social media content, for example – and start batching that one thing within a dedicated time block. Once it becomes second nature, layer in another batch.
Where Task Batching and Time Blocking Can Fail
Expect that this won’t work perfectly on your first try. It will probably take trial-and-error! I have tried several times to set myself a sweeping time-block schedule, only to see it fall apart within one week.
I realize now that I was setting myself up with a schedule that was too rigid. I tried deciding I’d only work on certain clients’ content on certain days… but that went out the window as soon as a new deadline popped up.
Plus, in my world, my content marketing clients typically receive their content on specific dates in a month, not certain days of the week. So while it’s great to say I’ll only edit my freelancers’ work on Fridays, sometimes the client’s due date falls on a Thursday because that’s the 25th of the month!
This is what I’ve found actually works for me. Take what you think applies to you, and leave the rest:
- Block off meeting times. I will only take meetings during specific hours/days of the week.
- Set strict work / non-work hours: This was my biggest learning curve when my daughter was born. I had to draw firm lines around when I would work and when I would focus on being a mom.
- Create recurring weekly tasks: I give myself a handful of tasks (scheduled in my must-have Asana!) that always occur on specific days of the week, while leaving room for other responsibilities.
For example, I handle business development tasks on Fridays, write newsletters on Tuesdays, and schedule social media posts on Thursdays. But these “themes” don’t take up the entire day! They just give me a rhythm to expect, while allowing me to handle everything else on my to-do list in the other time blocks, each day. - Time blocking day-by-day: At the end of my workday, I’ll look at the following day’s responsibilities. What are the priorities? What are the “must do” and “hope to do” items? I will write my responsibilities down in my hourly planner during my blocked work hours, so I know I have enough time to finish everything. Anything that doesn’t fit gets moved to another day.
How to be Flexible with Your Blocked Schedule
I want to be honest with you: No schedule is perfect, and neither is mine. Some weeks, my daughter decides naptime is optional (it’s not, for the record!) and my carefully planned afternoon work block goes out the window. Some weeks, a client project requires more attention than anticipated, and my daily themes get condensed.
That’s OK! The goal of combining these two strategies isn’t perfection; it’s intention. Even an imperfect time-blocked, task-batched week is more productive than a week spent reacting to whatever lands in your inbox first.
Give yourself grace, adjust as needed, and keep showing up.
Ready to Reclaim Your Workday?
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting to build your business, time blocking and task batching together can be the productivity shift you’ve been looking for. Start with one small change, stay consistent, and watch how much more intentional your workdays become.
And if one of the tasks you’re ready to batch is content writing, that’s exactly what my team at Emily Writes, LLC, is here for! Let’s take content creation completely off your plate so you can spend your time blocks on the work only YOU can do. Request our services here.