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Context switching is expensive
Multitasking is a lie; our brain can only make context switches between tasks, and our focus is the price. You might see “multitasking” as part of the job description, but no one can; in fact, it slows us down because it takes up 25 minutes to “refocus”. That’s why we need to focus on one task at a time.
What is time blocking?
Time blocking is a productivity technique that promotes doing one task during a set period of time. By segmenting our day into task blocks, we create mini deadlines and push ourselves to finish them on time. During the period, we should shut off from the world and get into the zone by limiting communication and distraction, but does it work?
I gave it a try
I started experimenting with time blocking back in my career as a cook. I created mental blocks by looking at the clock, then I said to myself, “between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm, I will fabricate and portion all 20kg of bavette steaks”, and put my headphones on with some music and crushed it! I finished my manual work on time, leaving just enough time for me to handle paperwork. From that time onward, I am a believer.
Career change, so does the lifestyle
Fast-forward to now, as a developer, I can feel my productivity going down the drain. There are too many screens flashing, messages from WhatsApp to Slack coming in, and email notifications popping up; I can’t focus. And then the procrastination kicks in, I was running away from my duty and started scrolling on my iPhone, browsing on my Mac, finally I said to myself, “it is time to bring time blocking back to my life”.
Back to the zone
Calendar and Reminders became my go-to apps for to-do and time blocking, but something is missing. Even with scheduling my task into tasks, the temptation to scroll and browse is far too great, because I cannot replicate the “zone” I have created by putting on my headphones. Therefore, I started using screen blocking apps like Opal and ScreenZen, but something is still missing.
A custom solution is needed
Time blocking and app blocking should not be separated; they should work together. This gave me the idea and motivation to create an iPhone app help me be tunnel-focused again, an app that nudge me to finish my work ASAP.
If you are interested in following my journey of building this app, please stay tuned for my weekly blog post, or follow me on X/Twitter.