Back to Basics: I’m Now Using Timetables
Glen / 
61 Comments / 
October 27th, 2009 / 
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When I’m finished with this post, it will be the third article written today and right now it’s only 1:30pm. I honestly can’t remember a day when I’ve wrote as many quality articles in such a short amount of time. There are three things that I can attribute to my productivity today.
The first is that I’m using an awesome Mac application called Self Control (more on that later) and the second is that I’m not longer being pestered by Diggy on Skype (it’s actually the other way around). The third reason, and the most important, is that I actually set myself a timetable for today.
I had the idea to try a timetable around two days ago when I saw someone else write about the process. I wish I could remember the blog so I can link to them, but sadly I can’t. My timetable is quite similar to what we all had when we were in school, hence the “back to basics” in the title. I wasn’t sure how things would work out, but it has been incredibly useful.
Today’s Timetable
Just to give you an idea of how I set out my timetable, here is what I have written down today:
10am – 11am: Write guest post for Daily Blog Tips
11am – 11.30am: Respond to all comments on PluginID (I did half) and ViperChill (I did all of them)
11.30am – Noon: Draft outline for Reality Switch eBook (a new eBook I’m working on)
12am – 12:30pm: Start on Guest Post for Search Engine People (I actually wrote 90% of it) and reply to all emails (done)
12:30pm – 1pm: Make lunch
1pm – 1:30pm: Skype call with Bud Hennekes
1:30pm – 2:30pm: Write timetables blog post for PluginID
I wrote this as soon as I woke up and vowed to stick to it. So far, it has been a total success.
If You Have All Day to Do Something, That’s How Long It Will Take
If I do not finish a task within the time I give for it, I’ll stop working on it and move on to the next item. I haven’t had to do this yet, but that is the plan anyway. I have had many days in the past where my only job for the day was to write an article about ‘X’ and that’s exactly how long it would take; all day.
The two guest posts I managed to write were both high quality and exceeded 1,000 words. I even had 20 minutes to spare after the first one so caught up with Google Reader and checked out Twitter. By giving myself just an hour to work on something, I naturally cut out all distractions and just get started.
I say naturally, but I also used a tool called Self Control (Mac). What this tool does is block you from certain websites for an amount of time allocated. If I block Twitter.com or Skype.com it will also block the Skype application and Tweetdeck. There is actually no way to turn it off and even if you restart your laptop it will still be running. So, whenever I have to write an article for an hour, I simply turn it on for 60 minutes and block all websites that would usually waste my time.
If anybody knows of a Windows alternative, please feel free to share it in the comments.
Practical Application
I’m fortunate enough (actually, I worked really hard for 2 years) to not have a day job so I know my structure won’t be suitable for everyone. However, I see no reason you can’t use this within your typical working day or after hours.
This is only my first day of using timetables, so I’m not sure how well things will continue to work out, but for some reason it feels really, really, fun. I know that might sound strange, but maybe you have to try it for yourself to understand. There are a few ideas I’ve had about continuing to use this in the future:
- New Timetable: I will create a new timetable every single day. I don’t like setting an hour to wake up on, so I will work with whatever hours I have
- I Will Not Extend Times: If I give myself an hour, that’s all I’ll give to the task unless I really need to extend it. If I still need to finish something, I’ll schedule it in at a later hour of the day
- I Won’t Plan a Whole Day: As many of you know, I’m travelling around Europe soon so will only be working for a few hours each day. Instead, I will plan a block of 3-4 hours to get things done which leaves me flexible to whatever life wants to throw at me
I would love to know what you think of this idea! Have you tried something like it before? Are you going to try it? Is it too ‘robotic’ for you?
If you enjoyed this post, I would appreciate if you share it on Twitter, Facebook or Delicious!
P.S. Self control still has 25 minutes to go before I can procrastinate again, so leave some comments to keep me busy
Hey Glen,
The timetable is a good tool. I used to be meticulous in following the process you outline above and I was highly productive. Somehow, I’ve gone away from using time frames when planning my day and you’re right – if you give yourself all day to get something done, that’s how long it will take…
Paul
Cheers, Paul.
I think the key is just making sure you stick to it. I know that as soon as I start slacking with the program, it will either disappear or be completely pointless.
Just make sure the first thing you do each day is write it
Great post, thanks for sharing Glen! I think this can work together with the pomodoro technique, which is a system where you focus on a single task for 25 minutes, and then you take 3-5 minutes break and move to something else (or the same task).
To people wondering what Oscar is talking about, here is a link to his cool technique: http://www.freestylemind.com/pomodoro-technique/
Definitely an interesting idea.
I like this Glen. Keep it simple with a plan, and timetable. I’ve tried this before, but did not have success with it. What I’ve found is simply creating a task list of what I want to do that day (but not get crazy with it) and going that route. It works for me, but I can see how it will not work for others and a timetable would be better.
Good luck and can’t wait to read that free ebook you are working on!
Cheers,
Dayne
Hi Dayne,
I have used that strategy for the past few months but I still wasn’t doing as much as I would like.
Oh, and Free? I will actually not take one single cent for the sale, but it will have a price tag.
I agree with you when you say if you give yourself a day to finish something, that’s how much you’ll take. By shortening deadlines and getting rid of distractions, it’s a more simpler way of getting things done in my opinion.
Speaking of distractions, man, that’s so cool that you can block applications on a Mac. Does anyone know if there is something similar for Windows or Google Chrome?
I think this would work: https://addons.mozilla.org/es-ES/firefox/addon/8565 (Firefox only)
Not sure why part of the page is in French though.
This is definitely something I could work on. Not the use of timetables and lists, but the enforcement of those. Maybe I should start scheduling in time to procrastinate and/or get distracted?
I’m sure you’ll be able to stick to that easily
Glen -
I’m totally into time management, so this post is just awesome. You hit it right on the head with this:
“If You Have All Day to Do Something, That’s How Long It Will Take”
Yes, that is correct. You see, people like to say that systems can be too cumbersome and that doing time management to the nth degree is a waste of time, but it isn’t. Look, it doesn’t have to be complex. You don’t even need a computer. Just write down what you need to do during the day and do it.
It’s so much more likely that you’ll accomplish something if you have it written down rather than saying ‘oh, I want to write a blog post today.’ Schedule it and do it! Good advice here.
Indeed, Nate, I think your URL gives that away
Yeah, I definitely believe that simple processes for productivity / time management are the way to go.
Thanks for stopping by, buddy.
Hey Glen.
Good call on activity time filling what time you allow it to fill. For two months of the summer I would write an article at night to be finished by 12 at midnight, and posted a new article every day for over two months. Setting 12 as the deadline was huge.
Good to hear that it was a success to write up the schedule as such and follow through with it.
Hey Armen,
That is a great example, thanks for sharing! I have an idea where I can actually incorporate that already.
This post was very interesting Glen!
Sticking to a timetable is something I consistently try but rarely achieve, so I hope it goes better for you
My latest blog post I wrote about eliminating time wasters, in which I ask the question, “Are You Being Productive Or Just Active”. This links in well with this concept.
If you have all day to do something, that’s how long it will take is a new concept to me, but it sure makes a lot of sense!
Thanks for this interesting post,
Dean
I think you can definitely ‘trick yourself’ to feel like you’ve been busy when you’ve actually done nothing at all.
Us humans are good at that
Thank you for your comment!
“If You Have All Day to Do Something, That’s How Long It Will Take”
Totally true. Some days I manage to get all of the stuff done and others, well, I get stuck and distracted a bit.
But I like that Mac application and I will surely use it tonight when going ahead with my own projects so:
Thank you for sharing!
Ricardo
It’s funny how we structure our weeks, but I admittedly don’t structure my days. This post inspires me to try setting up a timetable for the remainder of the week. Hopefully I can waste less time switching between projects and get more done with each of them. We’ll see how it goes!
Hey Man
Nice to read about your timetable method. I’m going to apply it too.
Will get lots of work done his week now that you won’t ‘pester me’
and I’m sure you will too!
Peace brah!
Thanks for the link
Diggy
Congrats man! great productivity tip. Thanks for linking to me
clearly you want diggy to win 
It’s kinda pointless linking to yourself
Hey, I was gonna comment, but it’s 8 a.m. now, so I’m outta time here, gotta stick to my plan!
All the best,
–Bill
There’s a old principle (I forget the name of it) that states that “a task will fill the time you allot to it.” Which is exactly what you say here. Nice to get a reminder about the idea and implementing a timetable. Now if I could only get rid of my day job…
Whoever said that said it far better than I did
Thanks for the comment, bro.
Hi Glen,
Interesting to hear how you got on with this.
Thanks again
Jen
Great post, Glen.
I really needed this right now as I seem to be getting stuck on information overwhelm. If anyone does find a Windows app like Self Control then I’d love to know about it.
I may have asked this before, but I’d love an article on how you organize your files and folders on your Mac/PC. That’s another of my annoyances that I can’t seem to find a great system for.
Cheers,
Ian
@Ian – you don’t need to organize them necessarily. that’s what search is for
Hey Ian,
To be honest buddy, my desktop is a total mess. I often give Diggy control of my Mac / PC via remote sharing so he can attest to that
Thankfully, most of my work is online so I don’t need to wory about it too much.
You consistently impress me with your simple thoughts that end up being game changers for how I get things done. Thanks for the idea.
You’re very welcome Tyson, awesome to hear!
Thanks for the tip about Self Control App. Its great. Works flawlessly.
No problem, glad you found it useful
Very very useful. Going to use this one everyday. 8 hours straight up for sure. I have my block list ready.
I think the RescueTime application for windows has this functionality now.
Only if you upgrade to a non-free membership though.
/Jonas
Thanks for the tip, buddy!
Hopefully that should help some people.
I like the timetables idea, I will definitely have to try this out. I’m a big fan of productivity systems and it sounds like this really could be a great idea. The issue for me with timetables is it seems like little things come up throughout my day that would screw it all up. We’ll see what happens I guess
Productivity old skool.
I was actually most interested in the number of guest posts you write. How many do you do a week or a month do you think? And what’s the best way you have found to go about first setting them up and then writing them.
All the best pal.
“New Timetable: I will create a new timetable every single day”
That’s a great idea. Tackle each day with a new strategy.
Cheers, Glen.
Thanks Glen..This is really good…The best part of this is that one can have a time-table only for some hours in a day…I find time-table for the whole day and the whole week boring and robotic… But this is a good tip…to finish work in some alloted hours in a day rather than taking the full day to complete the tasks which can be completed in just few hours…Thanks again…
“If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” -Lucille Ball
Hey Glen,
Limitations boost creativity. The less we have to work with, the more we maximize it and create something faster.
If we had unlimited choices and all the time in the world, we’d take forever to get something done, much less even know where to begin with. But if all you had was blue and red to paint with, you’d get started faster, and maximize the two colors by really working with them and creating something fresh – since all you have is two colors, you have to be inventive with them.
The same can be said for time. The less of it you have, the more you maximize it and get stuff done faster. You prioritize on what’s really important and gets you most results (80-20 style), and focus on working on those things.
I love your sentence “If you have all day to do something, that’s how long it will take.” I’ll have to quote you when I write an article related to this topic
Great stuff as always,
Oleg
Hey Glen:
Great post. I have been trying to use some of these techniques myself in the past. The biggest pitfall that I have experienced using this method is that you can get burnt out pretty quickly and life is life.
Life is life in a sense that things happen and if you pack things too tightly with timetables, then you will unproductive and unaccomplished in a day.
Another great danger is underestimating that task at hand. This one hurts the most because if you do end up underestimating something, you might feel a sense of unaccomplishemnt once again because one task will cut into the time of other. That in turn might actually unnecessary sense of urgency, which might make you do things at less than your best ability.
I have found this technique to work the best for simple tasks that do you require too much mental involvement and that you have already experienced before.
Tackling a new task using this technique can results in more than unpleasant results.
Key is to know yourself and your habits and set realistic expecations.
Thanks for the food for thought!
Best,
Tomas
I’ve always been a big fan of time-tabling. It started off from being a competitive sportsperson requiring around 25 hours a week of training, and learning to balance that out with my school-work.
I find that, without time-tabling all of my tasks, I fall behind and achieve a whole lot of ‘nothing’!
One thing I always do, which you may like to add: As something comes up – if I think of something I have to do, or during the course of my work another step arises that needs to be taken, I schedule it immediately. I can change it if I need to, but at least it’s pencilled there and I won’t forget it.
I also schedule “miscellaneous” time every day – to do those non-important but urgent things that always come up, check emails etc.
I have a day-job, study and am currently beginning to build my own business, so having a daily schedule really keeps me on top of things and allows me to see that I have balance in my life (I can easily see when I have too much on…. or too little)
Great post Glen. Actually, I’ve been doing this for some time now…Great minds think alike?
Hey, maybe I’ll be job-optional very soon. The only thing I haven’t been doing is the “Self Control” software you found. That would be cool, as sometimes I’m tempted to surf. But giving me a limited amount of time usually keeps me pretty motivated.
The only thing I do different is that I try to work on what is the most important thing that day and keep working on it until it gets done. Then I start on the next item, and so on. Usually, that really makes me motivated to finish!
Hi Glen, right on with this post. I have heard that planning your timetable each night for the following day makes it even more effective. It lets the idea and vision of what you want to get done kind of “sink in” overnight…When you do finally wake up in the morning you are ready to get it done…hopefully with even more time to spare.
I like the idea and need to make a habit of doing this every day.
Thanks for the post!
~Ross
Nice article. I’ve been keeping a mini moleskine with a start/stop time for every task I work on. As soon as I write the start time, I get this urge to work as quickly & swiftly as possible so i can look at the book during the end of the evening and say “wow, I got a hell of a lot done in 2 hours” – or something like that
I personally use a similar thing I got from Leo Babauta and Scott Young. Namely, I write down the stuff I want to get done each day, and then stick to the list. Once I complete it, I can do whatever I want (no adding tasks to the list!), even if it means wasting 8 hours watching TV shows.
It keeps me motivated to finish the tasks early in the day
Though I’ll try the timetable method for tasks I usually keep avoiding until the last moment…
No this is not for me… I like more freedom than sticking to timetables
Hey Glen,
I had tried the timetable methods before but I gave it up after a while. I believe it failed at that time because I tried to plan for a full whole day of what I am going to do. It makes the whole process too tedious and rigid. I’m going to try it out again but this time round I am going to plan for 3 to 4 hours instead. Let see how it goes.
Cheers,
Vincent
Yea this is really good. The more you plan your day the more you complete your goals, I think timetables are the way to go.
Back in the spring I got into the habit of timeblocking my day, then over the summer I let the habit slip away. I’m now back at it and wow, have my productivity and my down time fun taken leaps forward. When I’m working I’m not procrastinating so then later I can focus on fun without thinking about the stuff I haven’t gotten done.
I’m all for timetables! Good luck keeping it up.
good timetables
Hi Glen,
This seems like a great idea for those that are determined, but every time I tried it,at first it would be ok but then I would just get bummed out from not enough relaxation
Even as I was reading your timetable I felt you didn’t have any breaks! What about rest? Plus after a day or two I tend to ignore my timetables 
But for others that stick to it, it would be good 
Actually I hate all things timetable, but your timetables is worth learning and put into practice in order to greater success online.
Will not practice timetable for now but should I want to, I will refer into this quality blog of yours. Thanks.
Yes, that is an old thing to do, timetables.
I am going to try it out tonight, class till 17:30, so I could have finished my pizza at 18:30 and start working then. Alright, I will make a timetable, starting at 18:30!
Bedankt voor je altijd stimulerende ideeën