How do I practice time blocking?

The most direct way to practice time blocking is through a focused exercise: Open your calendar for next week. Identify the single most important piece of work you need to advance. Block a minimum of 90 uninterrupted minutes for it on at least two days. Label the block with the specific work, not a category — 'Write migration scripts for user table' rather than 'Deep work.' At the end of the week, compare what you accomplished in those blocks versus equivalent unblocked time.

Common pitfall: Blocking time but treating the blocks as soft suggestions rather than commitments. The most common pattern: you block 9 to 11 for deep work, an 'urgent' Slack message arrives at 9:15, and you tell yourself you'll return to the block after this one thing. You won't. The block is gone. Time blocking only works when you defend the blocks with the same seriousness you defend external meetings.

This practice connects to Phase 42 (Time Systems) — building it as a repeatable habit compounds over time.