How Small Time Blocks Can Revolutionise Your Productivity

Do you often hear yourself saying I never have enough time to get things done that I need to? Do you feel like you’re constantly racing against the clock, trying to fit everything in?  By harnessing the power of small time blocks, you can revolutionize your productivity and accomplish more than you ever thought possible.

Many of us have busy lives that don’t leave a lot of spare room. But I am about to show you how to use small blocks of time to get things done!

Although we often may say we don’t have enough time, if you sat and analysed how you used all the minutes of your day, most of us would find there were many pockets of time where it really wasn’t a productive use of our time. But we aren’t about to do this exercise today, instead, I hope to inspire you on ways you can use those small blocks of time, to move the needle forward in your business.

So, how can you use small blocks of time productively? What can you get done?

In 6 hours (that could be from 9am to 3pm) there are 72 five-minute blocks, 36 ten-minute blocks, and 24 fifteen-minute blocks.

Here are some ideas below of how you can use some of those spare small blocks 👇:

5-minute Time Block

5 minutes doesn’t sound like much but here are some ideas:

• Scan read new emails from the first half of the day (or the second half), archive quickly ones not of interest, and flag emails to come back to when there is a bigger time block to attend to. Reply to any quickly that don’t take a “well structured” response and only need a short answer;
• Brainstorm a title for a blog. This can be made even easier using AI like ChatGPT or Canva;
• Write the main points you plan on talking about for a blog post which will allow you to come back later and expand on them;
• Create a few Canva graphics using the templates you have previously designed in your branding;
• Review tomorrow’s calendar and ensure tasks are all scheduled into time slots;
• Code the day's transactions in your cloud-based accounting software like Xero;
• Pay your bills that aren’t automatically set up;
• Reply to a few comments on your social media (don’t go down the rabbit hole while you are there – In and Out!);
• Check your stats on a social media post;
• Record your follower numbers & email subscribers for the month in an excel;
• Brain dump some ideas into an ever-growing “brain dump” document;
• Prepare your snacks for the say so you don’t find yourself loitering in the pantry;
• Breathe!
• Make a nice relaxing tea and get some sun on your face and listen to the birds to clear your mind for self-care,
• Meditate;
• Get up and pop to an upbeat song you love to get some energy into you and your eyes off the computer;
• Do a minute each of squats, push-ups, lunges, tri-dips, and a plank (there’s a mini workout)
• Read a few pages of a Personal Development Book;
• Hang a load of washing out or put on o load;

So amazing what you can actually get done in 5 minutes instead of mindlessly scrolling social media!

10-Minute Time Block

 So now we will double it. Obviously, you can do all the tasks above slower or take longer if you needed or double your meditation, exercise, or self-care. But other ideas are:

• Schedule a few social media posts (this is made quicker if part of your planning and creating process contains the Title, Text, graphic/s, and hashtags);
• Put a reel together from videos you have taken and save it to draft or schedule if you have the option;
• Record some snippets of videos to use for reels at a later time (could also use the 5-minute blocks for this – or even 1 minute);
• Find graphics for a blog post;
• Go back to a flagged email you needed to tend to;
• Unsubscribe to emails you no longer read;
• Go back to the points you wrote down for a blog post and expand on one or more depending on how things are flowing;
• Prepare dinner to put on to cook later or put in a slow cooker to do its thing;
• Do a meal plan for the week;
• Write a draft email to go to your email list;
• Finalise a draft email and upload it for sending;
• Have a post-it party to plan out a course, program, or membership;
• Reach out to prospective clients via messages (not cold DM’s) and check in with their progress;
• Summarise a client coaching call for either your own notes or for the client with their action items;
• Prepare training for a FB/IG live – this is the points you want to talk about and things you want to share with them;
• Fold the washing.

So, there you have it, there are some ideas for 10-minute blocks. Actually a lot you can achieve there in small blocks.

15 Minute Time Blocks

 Now for a bigger block, but one you might not think of as a big one when it is in between things of a day. Again, you can lengthen the time for some of the 5 and 10 minute ideas and spend longer, or you could:

• Record a video training for a course or program you are creating;
• Write the notes for a training module in a course or program;
• Create graphics for a new offer;
• Create a new landing page using a template you use;
• Upload a new lead magnet and create the automation that goes with it (this can be made easier if you take time out to create Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’S) (yes small one-owner businesses use them too) so you can easily follow steps when it isn’t something you do very often;
• Outline the modules for a course you are creating (can be made easier with AI)
• Sit, put your feet up, and read a book;
• Take a walk;
• Do a HIIT workout or 3 times the 5-minute one;
• Watch a training video to help you learn a new skill (beware again of the rabbit hole)
• Plan your next week;
• Review your past week;
• Do some journalling or self-coaching (this can also be done in 5 or 10 minute blocks)
• Prepare a cake/slice and put it in the oven to cook;
• Cook dinner (even easier if you have an air fryer or pressure cooker);
• Upload your blog post including graphics and schedule (if you have a great system this could even be done in a smaller block)
• Schedule your next week of social media posts;
• Do a FB/IG live (can be also done in the small slots).

Well, I hope this has helped to give you some ideas of ways you can utilise the smaller time blocks between bigger tasks, jobs, appointments, errands, and family and friends. Next time you are waiting for a Zoom to start and have 5-15 minutes spare, tick something off the list of things you need to do.

It is amazing what we can achieve with a tighter deadline!

So the next time you have a few spare minutes, don't waste them scrolling through social media or staring off into space (unless you are meditating of course). Instead, use them to take small steps toward your goals and make the most of your time!

Reach out on FB/IG and let me know which ones you found useful, or what other uses you have found for the small time blocks.

And if you would like to get serious and take the next step, book a free discovery call and have a chat about how I can help you!