Define your time blocks to find balance and make time for your project
Hi Indie Hackers 👋!
A little while ago, I read this post on the difficulty of maintaining balance as a part-time indie hacker. I finally had some time to reflect on balance (isn’t that ironic :D) and I wanted to share my own techniques.
Disclaimer: I am in no means an expert, but a person who is just experimenting to find what works best for her. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to do the same.
As I’m getting further and further down my journey with Sidekick (my productivity app) and my full time job (product designer), I find it increasingly tough to maintain balance.
Questions that creep into my head are:
- How do I make sure Sidekick is getting the time it deserves?
- Am I committing enough to my life’s dream?
- What if I’m not performing at my full time job?
- When do I take care of myself?
For all my side hustlers out there or just in general, busy people with passionate goals, can you relate?
After lots of experimentation, I found 2 things really empowered me to feel like I can have it all. This is 1: time blocking and 2: the flow state. Let’s review!
What is time blocking?
Time blocking is a productivity technique that asks you to divide your day into blocks. You can chunk your time into small blocks (ex. 8:30-8:45am) or big blocks (ex. 8:30 - 3:30pm).
Everyone is different and it really comes down to what works for you. Because I like some extra flexibility and want to reduce my switching costs, I chunk my time into big blocks.
What is a flow state?
A flow state is a mental state in which you are fully immersed and involved in an activity. This means no distractions, interruptions, or changes in engagement - just a constant flow of maximum focus.
If you’ve watched Avatar, I think of the flow state as the avatar state. In the avatar state, Aang fully harnesses his powers and is unstoppable against any obstacle.
How do I apply this to maintain balance?
To utilize this power combo, here are 4 steps:
- Identify your optimal deep work time and length for your project.
This will take some experimentation and reflection. As a quick suggestion, I would start with a classic pomodoro session (25 minute work, 5 minute break).
After each session, reflect. Did I make good progress? Did I feel a dip in focus/performance?
- Identify your most important priorities. These will become your blocks.
- Structure your day to make room for your priorities/blocks.
- Continuously reflect and adjust.
To illustrate this a little better, let me walk through this with my own situation.
1. Identify your optimal deep work time and length.
For me, my optimal deep work time is 3 hours with a 5 minute break at every hour.
2. Identify your most important priorities.
This is Sidekick (my app), my full time job, and my me time (fitness, cooking, self care).
3. Structure your day to make room for your priorities/blocks.
Typically, I wake up and do a quick morning routine.
Then, I head to block #1: my 3 hour deep work session for Sidekick.
Then, I head to block #2: my 9-5 job.
As soon as my job ends, it’s block #3: my me time.
4. Continuously reflect and adjust.
On a monthly basis, I make sure to check in on myself. The biggest questions I ask myself are:
- Am I burnt out?
- Am I making progress on my project?
- Am I still enjoying my everyday?
Incorporating this power combo of time blocking and the flow state really helped me make room for everything I want to prioritize. It makes me feel at the end of the day, I earned my sleep and I made time for me and my dreams.
In my opinion, productivity is not a one size fits all model. Everyone’s different. If you’re struggling to maintain balance as a part-time indie hacker, I suggest reflecting on if this concept is something you’d be open to exploring and then go forth!
👇 Share it down below!
What do you think? Are you going to try it?
What’s your deepest passion? Are you making time for it? Do you have any tips of your own?
Thanks so much for reading. Let me know if I missed anything or if you have any questions.
As a legit ADD person, using time efficiently has always been a struggle. I love using the Pomodoro Technique and have found a pretty good rhythm with it, but I really like this idea of time blocking. Thanks for the thorough explanation that I can relate to :)
That's awesome you found a good rhythm :) I never used pomodoro before but now, it's my go-to. Hope you enjoy time blocking just as much!
Great post Allison, thanks for sharing what you’ve learned here!
I have really benefited from using time blocks as well. For me scheduling specific tasks in blocks on my calendar for the following day/week has helped me do what’s most important and set realistic productivity expectations for a given day of work.
I haven't experimented with ideal lengths, break frequency or times of day—great tip! I’ll start experimenting today.
That's awesome! I like the idea of scheduling for the following day or week. It's like planning and ahead and setting your mindset. I might just try that out :) Usually, I plan the morning of or just have a set routine.
Good luck with experimenting with ideal lengths! It comes from the book "Deep Work: Rules for Success in a Distracted World" by Cal Newport. If you're interested, I think it's a great read!
Thanks for the book Reco! That sounds like a perfect message for my next read.
PS. Just signed up for Sidekick. Thanks for creating this tool, I’m excited to try it out this weekend!
That's awesome! I'm excited to hear what you think . Let me know how your experience goes and if you have any ideas on how we can improve. Thanks so much :) Hope you have a great weekend - happy focusing + building!
Time blocking is great. I thought motion app was the solution to this but it's quite hard to build the habit. I like spending Sundays to re-assess week goals then that makes it a lot easier!
That's awesome! Just curious, do you consider Sundays the beginning or end of the week? Reflection or planning?
Interesting! I take it as both - reviewing what went well and what can be improved for next week, then review goals starting from Monday. So I'd lean towards saying it's a 'wrapping up the last week/reflecting whilst using it to define next week's goals'.