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How to ThinkIn the Age of AI

Question

What is calendar blocking?

intermediate

Quick Answer

Assigning specific blocks of time to specific types of work ensures important work gets done.

Example: A software engineer spends Monday through Friday 'working on the product,' but every week ends with the same realization: the critical database migration never started. She tried willpower. She tried prioritization frameworks. Nothing changed — until she blocked Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 9 to 11:30, exclusively for deep technical work. Within two weeks the migration was complete. The time was always there. What was missing was the assignment.

This concept is part of Time Systems in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for time systems.

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