So, you’ve decided to take back some control of your time — and maybe even carve out a little space for focused academic work.
But how?
If your calendar already feels like a battlefield of back-to-back classes, spontaneous student emails, grading marathons, and unexpected admin “asks,” it’s not easy to just “make time.”
That’s where time blocking comes in. It’s one of the most powerful tools to help teaching-focused faculty actually get deep work done — even in a schedule that feels packed from dawn to dusk.
What Is Time Blocking (And Why Should You Care)?
Time blocking means planning your day in advance and assigning each hour a specific task or activity.
Instead of making a long to-do list and hoping for the best, you schedule the work that matters. You literally block out chunks of time in your calendar — for writing, grading, prepping, deep work, even lunch or rest.
It sounds simple. But it’s transformational.
Why? Because otherwise, your day gets filled by default — usually with other people’s priorities. Emails, hallway requests, meetings. The urgent stuff creeps in and pushes out the important work.
With time blocking, you flip the script. You decide first. You decide for focused academic work.
Step 1: Get Real About What’s Already in Your Week
Before you block anything, start by seeing where your time currently goes.
- Print or open your calendar for the past week. Where did you spend your time?
- Highlight your fixed commitments — lectures, office hours, standing meetings.
- Then look at the gaps. What happened to those two hours between classes on Tuesday?
- Be honest: How much time did email take? Grading? Admin?
This isn’t about guilt — it’s about awareness.
Once you know your rhythms, you can start planning more intentionally for focused academic work times.
Step 2: Start with the “Fixed Points”
Teaching schedules are non-negotiable. So start there.
Block your class times, standing meetings, office hours, and anything else immovable. These are your “anchor points.”
Now look at what’s left.
You might be surprised to find you still have some open spaces — even just 30–90 minute windows — scattered through your week. Those are your raw materials for deep work.
Step 3: Design Your Week Around Focus, Not Just Tasks
This is where it gets exciting.
Ask yourself:
- What work actually matters to me right now?
- When do I tend to have the most focus or energy?
- What kinds of tasks drain me, and how can I cluster them?
Now start assigning blocks based on focus level:
- High-focus mornings (e.g. 8:30–10:30): Block for deep work — prepping a new syllabus, writing up an idea, reviewing research.
- Low-focus afternoons (e.g. 3–5): Batch shallow work — answering emails, scheduling, grading quizzes.
- One big chunk per week (e.g. Thursday 9–12): Use for creative or strategic projects — redesigning a course, applying for a grant, creating reusable materials.
The key is not mixing task types. Writing for 45 minutes, then hopping into email, then back to lesson planning? That’s a recipe for fragmented focus.
Instead: protect blocks like gold. Use them for one kind of thinking only.
Step 4: Name Your Blocks Like They Matter
This might sound silly, but it’s a game-changer:
Don’t just write “work” in your calendar. Also not “focused academic work” 😉
Write exactly what you’ll do: “Create lecture slides for Monday” or “Grade Essay Batch 1.” Better yet, include a verb: “Outline workshop talk” or “Draft 2 slides on assessment.”
This helps your brain know what to expect — and makes it way more likely you’ll follow through.
Step 5: Create Theme Days (Optional — But Awesome)
Here’s a bonus strategy for teaching-heavy weeks: theme your days.
Instead of juggling everything every day, assign certain types of work to certain days. For example:
- Monday & Wednesday = Teaching + Student Days
→ Focus on lectures, grading, feedback, meetings. - Tuesday & Thursday = Deep Work Days
→ Block bigger chunks for planning, writing, thinking. - Friday = Admin + Wrap-Up Day
→ Emails, documents, prep for next week.
This reduces context switching and helps you mentally prepare for the kind of focus needed each day.
You might not always control your week, but even semi-theming can help reduce chaos.
Step 6: Revisit and Adjust Each Week for Focused Academic Work
Time blocking isn’t about rigidity — it’s about intention.
At the start (or end) of each week, look ahead. Ask:
- What must happen this week?
- What projects need focus time?
- What got bumped last week and needs space now?
Adjust your blocks. Make room for reality. Teaching schedules change, and that’s okay. The goal is not perfection — it’s direction.
And remember: even if a block gets interrupted, you’re still far ahead of where you’d be if you were winging it.
What If I Don’t Have Time to Block?
That’s like saying “I don’t have time to make a grocery list, so I’ll just wander the store and hope I get what I need.”
If your week already feels chaotic, that’s the best reason to block it.
Even 5–10 minutes of planning can save hours of lost or wasted time.
Start small. Maybe just block one deep work session a week. Treat it like a meeting you can’t skip. Then build from there.
You Don’t Need More Time — Just More Control
Most educators don’t lack discipline. You work hard. You care. You’re always “on.”
But without a plan, your time becomes everyone else’s.
Time blocking is a way to take that time back — not by doing more, but by doing what matters on purpose.
Next time, we’ll talk about how to protect those focus blocks once they’re in your calendar. Because the interruptions will come… but you don’t have to let them in.