How to Create a Block Schedule for Daily Routine

If you’re looking for a way to add more structure and organization to your daily routine, come learn how to block schedule your day. This simple system can help you to have productive days and finally chip away at that to-do list!

As a homemaker, who homeschools her kids, and has tons of farm animals to care for, I have jam packed days. And I bet the same is true for you, even if the daily “to-do’s” are different.

Personally, I love planned out days. I’ve found that if I don’t have things to work on and tasks to complete, I spend far too much time on social media. Which usually means my house is a mess by the end of the day, and just looking at all the things I need to do can overwhelm me.

I have to have to a clear goal of what I need to be working on.

That’s where my planner and block scheduling comes in!

What is a block schedule at home?

A block schedule is the process of breaking your day down in to smaller chunks of time. Each block of time that you create will have specific tasks and goals you want to achieve within it. This makes your list of things to do much more manageable, and gives you structure for what needs to be worked on next.

How to Organize a Block Schedule

Have a binder, planner, notebook, or free printable to schedule in.
Create a “master list” of tasks.
Decide on your time blocks.
Fill in the blocks.
Get stuff done! 🙂

We will go over these steps in a little more detail now.

Setting up your planner.

To set up your block schedule, you need to first have a place to keep it. You can use a notebook, planner, or printables (I have some free planner printables you can find here).

Don’t think that you have to go out and purchase a new planner. Seriously, a simple binder with printables or a spiral notebook really work just fine.

If you are tech person, you can totally use your phone to set this up as well.

Setting up a master task list.

Next, I recommend keeping a master list in your planner/binder – either as a separate page or in the notes section of your printable.

A master list is just an ongoing list of things you need to get done. You can color code them by importance (urgent vs no required timeline) and even organize by category if you choose (school, home, work, etc.).

UPCLOSE VIEW OF PAPER PLANNER WIHT A SECTION FOR IMPORTANT THIS WEEK TASKS

You can add to it as you think of things, and cross off the items that have been completed. This is an excellent place to jot down all those things that cross your mind on minute but are gone the next.

I know I can’t be the only person who has sat down to organize my day or week, but can’t remember half of the things I wanted to do…that’s why I strongly suggest creating one of these master lists!

Choosing your time blocks.

Now you want to choose your time blocks. Depending on your daily life, this could look way different than mine, but that’s okay! You just need to evaluate your days and see the natural flow of them.

Here’s what I mean.

My days are typically broken up in to 4, 3 hour blocks. I have an early morning block (before the kids wake up), morning block, afternoon block, and evening block. Some days, I will have a night block if I have some things I am wanting to get done before bed.

It looks like this:

5-8 A.M. : EARLY MORNING BLOCK
8-11 : MORNING BLOCK
11-2 : AFTERNOON BLOCK
2-5 : EVENING BLOCK

Here’s what it would look like if I was using my free weekly printable.

You may only have an early morning, work, and evening block. If you have a new baby and really need that sleep, completely ditch the idea of an early morning block. Or you may prefer small blocks if you have a lot of time sensitive tasks to accomplish.

Fill your time blocks.

Now, you need to look at a few different things before you start filling your blocks. You want to consider:

What are my responsibilities/non-negotiables today?
What are the urgent items I need to get done today?
Do I have any appointments or outings scheduled?
What are 3 more things I would like to accomplish today – but aren’t urgent?

As you’re thinking about these tasks, jot down about how much time each one will take.

Every day, I have certain responsibilities that are pretty much non-negotiable.

For me, that incudes cooking, my cleaning routine, homeschooling my kids, and reading my bible. Those are the things that I feel myself and my family needs in order to thrive. They go into the appropriate time on the block schedule first, and then I start to fill in the blanks. I plan my days around these things.

Next, let’s look at urgent items.

This is where that Master List comes in! Look it over and see if there are any urgent items that need tending to. You may have zero, you may have 5. I recommend putting these urgent items early in the day. Even if nothing else gets done past this point, you will feel so. much. better. getting those urgent items off your to-do list.

If you have appointments or outings, be sure to put those in blocks by themselves or with pretty simple other tasks. You don’t want to overfill your blocks!

Fill in blocks without a lot going on with those things you would like to get done but aren’t urgent. For me, this is working out, maybe tackling a closet cleanout, working on this blog. I still try really hard to get these things done, but if it doesn’t happen, that’s okay. I know nothing is going to come crashing down because my closet is overflowing.

And that’s it! Now I have a plan for the day. If I have extra time left in a block, I’ll refer back to my master list to see if there is something I want to do, get started on the next block, or my personal favorite..take a little break!