A Minimalist Bullet Journal Week: The 10 Blocks of Time [Productivity Planning]
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- In 2018 I'm using a minimalist Bullet Journal spread to create a daily agenda and accomplish my top tasks first. I'll show you how to use 10 blocks of time for productivity planning and to organize your responsibilities.
Download your 10 Blocks PDF here: matt.ck.page/10blocks
In the last video, I shared my complete productivity planning system for 2018. I showed you how I use a minimalist bullet journal for planning my days, weeks, months, and project sprints. Watch it here: • New Year Planning: A M...
This is my favorite part of the weekly plan, both in execution and discipline. I was in the shower one day when I thought, “I’ve been over-committing my meeting bucket this week”. I realized each week I basically allocate the time and tasks I have into different buckets, and not realizing when something was becoming to full was leading to issues with boundaries and working overtime.
Since buckets are hard to draw and take up a lot of time, I started using the idea of time blocks instead. It’s really the next iteration of the bar graph method I used before. If I work 40 hours a week, I have four 10 hour blocks of time to commit to different projects and responsibilities.
Now I’m able to dictate which blocks of time I’m able to commit to different tasks and responsibilities, and have a literal gauge on when something is out of balance or approaching the maximum time blocked.
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My name is Matt Ragland and I make videos about creating and cultivating a profitable side hustle. I’ll show you how to develop and organize a value-based approach to your content that solves problems for your fans and converts them to customers.
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![10 Blocks of Time to Plan Your Week [Minimalist Bullet Journal Layout]](/img/n.gif)
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for watching, please let me know any questions you have, or your favorite type of planning system!
A very neat planner, Matt.
I’m watching this on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. (Last year it was Monday and without a doubt, in 2020 it’ll Wednesday!) I could possibly say, Happy 1 Year Journey’s Anniversary! :) This is pretty cool coincidence and I found this video/journal interesting, maybe this were meant to be my style! Haha. :)
Great video! I wanted to download yr 10 Blocks PDF but the link wasn't working when I clicked on it.
Great video Matt. Just got a question. I noticed that you timeblocked every hour of your day. What happens when things take longer to complete. Or the time you spend with your family goes into overtime causing an avalanche of tasks and time
That looks like a really constructive way of keeping tabs on things as the week goes on, while planning to make sure that you don't miss out on your priorities. Thank you, Matt.
The flowery bujos are pretty and inspiring but your methods and simplicity are how I’m actually going to get sh** done.
Hi Matt! I just want to thank you for sharing your insights with the 10 blocks! I’m a long time bullet journalist and this is a new way of organizing my time that I fully plan on implementing stat! And I also love that your voice is so very welcome in an environment that’s over-saturated with a lot of us ladies, it’s great to have your perspective
i may have found you just now, but i really appreciate the minimalism and bluntness of these videos. this is exactly what i need.
Awesome! So glad you liked it :)
i know this video is old but it gave me lots of fresh new ideas for optimizing my way of daily and weekly journaling, thank you very much
I've tried weekly spreads in the past without much success for my work week. The 10 Blocks approach really helped me solve a planning dilemma around managing a program with several concurrent work streams and projects - thanks for the explanation and visuals.
Melinda Smith you’re welcome, thanks for telling me!
Love this! Thank you so much - I have things I always want to fit in but I find it hard to schedule them. Will definitely give it a try.
I really like how this works, gonna have a play with it and see how it works for me as part of my weekly spread to organise my uni work
I love this block system which makes things very easy to plan and also efficiently.
My task list is long for each day. I think a “bookmark” for the week with the blocks could work for me. I can then tape it into my journal at the end of the week. Great video.
This is great. It will help me see what is important and I LOVE the 10 blocks. I work from home and it's necessary to get the tasks done
Raymah Hutchinson I feel you! Glad you like it 😄
This is amazing! I just started bullet journaling and will definitely be trying this next time I draw out a weekly spread.
I don’t use all 10 blocks but I do for personal things I plan to do during the week. This is a great thing to document and looking back on how the week went.
Wow this is going to totally work for me! And I'm going to create a block and count how many interruptions I get!!
Amani A-N nice! How will you track them?
This makes sense to me better than the pretty journals. Its a tool/resource for managing how i spend time! Awesome!
bojoro.....so cheesy. love it.
Just found the channel, but I'm a fan already. Great work, natural voice over, clear presentation, focused delivery and clever ideas simply proposed. Quality content, keep up the good work
Thanks so much Kalen!
As a construction business owner I have 14 hour work days 6 days a week with an average of 12 items a day that are high value, I use a 2 page per day Day Timer and I wish I had 4 high value tasks a day to do. It shows me I need to hire help! I do use the pushing the task not done to the next day like you do!
This looks fantastic, I’m going to try it out.
Those blocks and cards don’t show on a SmartTV and it seems like bloggers don’t realise this, so I often see people pointing at things that aren’t there!
Matt, it’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! Thank you so much for this video! I'm going to apply this idea, I recently started my Bullet Journal. Brazilian greetings, I wish you success!
Produções Gracie thanks, same to you!
this makes so much sense, i definitely wanna try it out! thank you do much for sharing it 😊
Myro F. Gasaraisum you’re welcome, thanks for watching!
Diggin' the creative direction of this video. The iteration and improvements are awesome, man. Keep it going!
Thanks so much Charbel :D
Hey Matt, this is really inspirational and smart. Will try next week. Miss Rockmont a bunch, now that I'm 18 may apply to work in summer their If I don't do college this summer.
Thanks Reid, really great to hear from you! Should totally get back to Rockmont!
This is great lol I can't wait to implement this ❤️
Baron Fig? Hell yes. These notebooks don’t get enough credit. I backed them on Kickstarter when they just had the Confidant in one color. Man, have they widened their product line since then. Fantastic company who actually listens to their customers. Awesome video of the desk pad in action.
Absolutely, they are awesome. Need to get some more stuff from them. Do you have any of their bags?
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much 😊
Niki Marshall thanks Niki!
This is just genius! Simple, visual, genius!
Sylvana Galaz thank you so much!
Matt Ragland thank you for sharing it!
Looking forward to testing this out to help keep myself on task.
Jon Blackwell nice Jon, thanks for watching and let me know how it goes!
Briljant! Just what i needed, will add this to my bullet journel!
boho chic thanks for watching!
Waiting for another video from you boho chic!
Thank You ! 🙏
I love that black ring btw 🇳🇵😎
Thanks! I lost it though :(
Need more videos like it
Thanks.
OMG! Your the best.
Thanks Soy!
🤩 So happy you did a video on the blocks, I was wishing for one after watching your last video 😅
Thanks Dee! Glad it fit in 😃 Any other sections you thought needed more details?
It was such detailed video already 😁 but I'm sure once I start trying things (specially the projects part) I'll wonder back on there and ask some things here and there 🤓
DeePlannerGirl please do! I try to answer questions with more videos, so win-win!
Well put! Very helpful...thanks Matt🤙🏽
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
So nice! Thank you so much!
Great-great idea. May i include half bar for time outs (short meditations, pomodoro...). Sometimes that helps- sometimes I overdo it! I might dot 1.2.3.4. hrs under the 25%-100%.
This video was a good use of one Dot on my Block..
I like this. You could make this a 4 page spread and add additional blocks above the 40 hours to incorporate home maintenance tasks, family + friend obligations and personal dev / exercise / down time.
What a great video, Thank You 👌
You're welcome!
Loved this!
Thanks Shawna!
Wauw! That was the best one I saw so far! Awesome job!
So happy to hear that, thanks!
This is brilliant
David Walker thanks! Have a really good friend named David Walker too, small world!
Great Info.👌
Very good concept
U are such a good CZcams u desive like 10 million subscribers
Hannah Makings on my way!
Not quite clear: do you graph all your 10 blocks at the beginning of the week (i.e., this week, I'll spend 7 hours on onboarding, 6 hours on support, etc.), or do you graph them at the end of each day? Just wondering how you differentiate between your planned 10 block time and your actual 10 block time.
Really helpful, thanks
Bernardo Rocha you’re welcome!
Thank you for this video☺
Scream Mobile you’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
I am an entrepreneur with several projects going on I also work weekends :) and I am on the road quite a bit. Any suggestions on how to separate the businesses? and My work week is usually more than 40 hours LOL! As I am sure my experience is the same as many others. DO you think the 40 hours (10 blocks of 4- if I am following this) is just a guide? or should I add more blocks? this is awesome I LOVE it!
thank you
Marli Tolosa you’re welcome!
I like your ideas here and your process. Just a suggestion, wouldn't it be easier and faster to draw one master document and make copies of it and throw them in binder?
Hey, Matt. Stumbled across this as I'm getting into Bullet Journaling. Thanks for great content, excellently executed. Quick question, where do you keep the running list of items that need to get done, even if they aren't a top task. I'm thinking like if there's a day with no meetings, or other interruptions and you're able to really buckle down. Thanks again!
Keith Williamson great question! I need to do a more specific video about this too 😄 But for now I’m usually adding to a running list elsewhere in the journal, or a smaller FieldNotes, or even in an app. Which is too many points of reference that I need to whittle down!
How would you suggest adjusting this for full time moms with a side hustle?
Thanks for sharing your process. Do you always aim to have 10 tasks/projects to address in a week, or does your "10 block" ever become less tasks for more hours devoted to each task?
Chloe Risto yes absolutely! Could be four 10 hour blocks for example. Great thinking!
I was just thinking it seems a bit formulaic-which is fine if it works for you. But 10 x 4-hour blocks, to me, seems a bit arbitrary, unless you know you always have 10 activities you spend the bulk of your time on. Is the 4 hours some sort of goal?
I'm a student so I'm not sure how I should be using the block system as my task list is completely unpredictable .. I did liked the idea a lot tho 👏
Stuti R. Fair point, I remember those days! I’m thinking about some student-focused videos too!
I think this could work for a student. Plan your predictable stuff on the daily portion and chart the the unpredictable stuff on the bars. The bars could be homework, reading, projects, study, ect.
Skylar Bertram great point Skylar!
I’m a stay home mom with a couple side hustles. I personally was planning to make a page where I color code how I spend my time for a few weeks so I can see visually.
I used this type of time tracker for school this past year and I found it really helpful :) I just estimated each week how much time I thought a given subject in school would need and then gave it that much time in the tracker. I did a blog post about it with pictures!
showerthoughts247.blogspot.com/2018/03/how-i-bullet-journalplan-my-life.html
This system leaves little room for capturing new items in standard bullet journal fashion. Where do you put new items that you have not assigned yet to a day?
Put it all in the brain dump section BEFORE you make this page spread. What I do is use my brain dump like a list of sticky notes and put a symbol next to it if it needs to be assigned and the priority of it so when it is time to schedule the week out you just go to the brain dump.
Wondering how 10 four-hours blocks for a 40 hour workweek corresponds to a 5-day, Monday-Friday 40 hour week, which is 8 hours per day. I think I am missing something.... I think this system would totally work for my job since that time is a fixed at 8 hours of work (lunch makes it 9 hours at work each day, not counting commuting). Really appreciate that this has detail but does not devolve into scrap-booking and drawn embellishments. Thank you! (Tempted by Baron Fig, but gotta get through my Rhodia and Leuchtturm1917 first!)
Hi Eugenia! It's not really supposed to reflect each 8 hour day, but the time you give to projects and tasks over the week. Could just as easily create five 8 hour blocks if that's better for you!
I'm bringing your videos, sorry if you answered this question already: Are the items in the blocks kind of "projects" and the tasks at the right comes out of this projects? I'm trying to sense the relationship between the blocks and the tasks.
Ana Cristina Irizarri Somewhat. So for example you have projects that should be centered around your goals and what you must do in order to not just be stuck doing busy work. So for me for example I need to make videos, art, read books etc all of these projects are something you would prioritize and put in a priority of category 1 or 2 as they must get done asap. They are to better my personal passions or things to help you be a better you which we don’t tend to prioritize well enough and get blown around by busy work that is category 3 work that can wait to whenever to get done. This is easy if you give everyday a theme. So for example if you make Monday your Admin day this is the day where you would get emails, bills, clean house, appointments done this day. Those are your top tasks that are what you do and time when you fill in the block for admin. This is done so you aren’t doing the same things throughout the week instead of in a block and you end up in burnout. Over into the tasks section under the date that is just a basic calendar where you would put down anywhere where you would have an appointment that day or an event or birthday or any tasks that is not that important but can wait. So yes under the top tasks for example pretend it is Monday and the theme is Admin day then that would be a project block: the sub tasks to complete that theme for the day would go under the top tasks section and MUST be done. That’s why he said if it is not completed he shifts it over into the next day as the TOP thing to get done becasue it was not done the previous day. This helps you to never overlook completing something that is important to you by being busy doing something that could have been completed weeks later. Hope this helped. Let me know if you have any questions
Can you buy the Baron Fig notebooks in the UK?
This is very helpful what about a situation where I know that my meetings are well over four hours for the week and sometimes even 3 to 4 hours worth of meetings per day how do you break up the time block then?
Sounds like you need 3-4 blocks for meetings, just like he made more than one block for his main task, which is onboarding
Hmm simple planner page, I like it. I've tried several ideas, and planners, pocket planners, etc. But none really seem to work. I have been using Google Calendar the past few years pretty heavily but even then I'm not at the computer all the time so oftentimes I find myself forgetting to enter stuff into the calendar and by the time I get home I've forgotten quite a bit so this simple planner layout may just work.
Thank you.
Thanks William, let me know what you think!
Printed off the sample you linked, and took it to work this morning. Used it quite extensively and even started planning my day tomorrow on a new page. So far so good, very simple and can be modified as needed for the day or week. Excellent job. Thank you for a great template.
I haven't filled out tomorrow's planner page completely yet, just a few basics I know that need to be completed at certain times...looks like this just may be the ticket to success for me.
William Todd that’s awesome man, thanks for letting me know it’s working for you! Keep me updated!
Hey Matt.. Big fan. I was going back in time on your videos. Do you still use this method in 2019?
Hey Terry! I still use it at times, haven’t in a few months though. Good for a month to make sure you’re on the right path with your time/tasks. Thanks for watching way back!
Watching now...this is intended for your job, right? Not your family or recreational time? As one with a part-time job outside the home, and then home tasks inside the home, along with tasks that pertain to a more recreational/hobby focus, can this approach be applied to my situation? Just trying to wrap my head around this when I don't work 40 hours a week at a paying job. Thanks.
Hi Gretchen, yes it can be - what I'd do is think about my primary tasks and responsibilities at home + work then create custom blocks for this. My wife and I are doing a couple podcasts episodes about this in the coming month, if you sign up for my emails you'll be sure to know when they come out!
This is great! I would love to try it out. However, I cannot download the 10 blocks pdf. When I click on the "send it to me!" icon, nothing happens. I tried this in both Chrome and Internet Explorer. Thanks!
Suzanne C-S im having the same issue
Id like to try this but I treat patients from 8-5 and I don't get to choose what my work day looks like. Maybe I can use my blocks for after work life. Wish I didn't spend nearly 8 hours on notes after work weekly..
Try it out for your after hours, if you want! It's not for everyone :) But you can take some of the elements to try them out.
This is sick do you do you know any good notebooks for this?
kyle joyce yeah! The Baron Fig Confidant, there’s a coupon link in the description!
Hey Matt :)
Thanks for the inspirational insights. I have one big problem that kept me starting Bullet Journaling. That are recurring tasks. How do you handle these?
E.g. in Todoist I have tasks that are twice a week like cleaning, errands,... but also daily, monthly and quarterly tasks. They can easily be handled in Todoist. But how do you integrate them into the Monthly, weekly log. It clutters the whole stuff up.
Andre Multerer I was just wondering this as well - considering writing on some sort of bookmark I could move from week to week for daily/weekly task reminders, writing in the future log for monthly/quarterly reminders. (Maybe marking the future log dates with special symbols that only get explained the first time they are used, so it doesn’t get too cluttered?)
@@gnomie2.0 For Monthly tasks I set up a Checklist in the Monthly log. Weekly Tasks are in the Weekly Log. For daily tasks I set them up in the Weekly Log as well. Just make a grid where the rows represent the days, the columns the daily tasks. So you can check them off and have a nice overview if you did all daily tasks in the week.
Need a tutorial for homemakers as this does not connect with me.
Thanks, Matt. Heard you on MPU and thought I'd check things out. I tried going to the mattragland.com/10blocks page and it has a pop-up but doesn't allow me to add my email address so I cannot download the template. Just a heads up.
Hi! I tired to download your template to my phone but can’t. Do you have a PDF version rather than a zip?
Lucy Barnard Try and use a PC. It worked for me..😀
Kim Priess Loft Thanks Kim! I don’t have a computer but I did find an app called iZip which worked. 🙌
Great! 👍😄
Makes me want to get on computer and create a form rather than having to create blocks, dates etc & repeating items per week can be on all the time. Save paper by having on your iPad or lap top.
Looking at doing one of those too!
What do you mean by "onboarding"?
Hi Matt liked your video but your 10 block pdf link is not working.
So far the best tutorial on making a weekly spread. Other videos focus too much on colours, pen types, fonts, block size. They don't tell me how to be productive. Maybe it's just me being a guy.
I think your PDF page is broken went there and clicked where it says "send it to me" and nothing happened. Bummed.
Does this link work? matt.ck.page/10blocks
@@MattRagland I had the same problem with the link in the description but YES, this new link works fine.
@@Idunnobroseph ok good! I'll fix that other one up ;)
It'd be better if you upload something like this for us students. I mean the concept is really good, but my routine is so much unpredictable.
I'm interested in helping with that, can you elaborate more on the problem though? Can you just adjust the time blocks for classes, studying, etc?
I'm a mass communication student and mostly I spent my time on field, interviewing people. So there's no time for me to plan what is going to be my next move and I end up studying only 3 hours a day which is far less than what is needed. Plus I take back to back classes for 4 hours so that I can go ahead and reach my destination where I interview people. My classes starts at 8.30 am. Plus I spend half of my weekend editing and transcribing those interviews.
What is your reasoning for writing in all caps? Thanks!
0ThrowawayAccount0 it’s neat and my Dad writes this way.
Simple and succinct answer. :) Thanks!
can't download 10 Blocks PDF
Thats fricken weird ... im legit learning about journaling and this guy date is legit the same date today - the universe legit said "you are exactly where you are supposed to be"
so freaky wow !
I spy ESV Study Bible and Chronicles of Narnia
Favorite books :D
1:07 obnoxious music finally goes off.
Maybe I am missing something, but those books seem very expensive to me. Clue me if I am incorrect.
Larry Glatt I think the one I use is like $18-20. Lasts at least 6 months so pretty reasonable.
This was hard to follow!
👨🏫🧣
complicated I dont understand
This sucks for soo many reasons ughh!
This is just strategic planning - it's writing down what you already know. Not sure holds any real value.
Ugh. Developers.
All those things are unnecessary and complicated. There is nothing minimalism there.👎
Really helpful, thanks
Bernardo Rocha you’re welcome!
Bernardo Rocha you’re welcome!