Being an entrepreneur means having a busy schedule, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that! In fact, being busy is a great sign of success. The problem happens when your jam-packed schedule leaves you no time to do anything else, like spend time with family and friends.

If you’re anything like me, though, the whole reason I started my two businesses was so I could continue what I loved doing in my career but also have time to be present in my family. My corporate job was making me sacrifice my free time, and as I was starting a family, I decided it was time to do things on my own terms.

But I’ll be honest… Things didn’t start so smoothly. I wasn’t great at time blocking when I first started my businesses, and it took years to hone in on my processes to figure out the best ways to be efficient with my time. Fast forward to today (nearly two decades later), and I’ve got a pretty good handle on it!

I don’t want you spending years of your career trying to figure out time blocking on your own, so I’ve put together this blog to talk about my three best time-saving “hacks” so you can feel more productive with your time! These aren’t some unrealistic, elaborate time blocking hacks — these are simple things you could implement today to start saving time in your week. My goal is to let you skip past the unnecessary research phase (since I’ve already done that!) so you can get right into continuing to crush your goals as a CEO.

Let’s get into it!

Time blocking tip 1: Turn off all notifications

Ok, friends. We’re starting off strong with tip number one! I know that this time blocking tip can give many entrepreneurs anxiety because it’s likely you use various online platforms and technology to keep up with all the moving parts of your business. That’s why, at first glance, turning off all your notifications can seem like an impossible ask.

However, it’s well-known that notifications steal our focus and our time. I also know that deep inside, you already understand that your business will still run smoothly if you turn off your notifications because you know you’ll be tending to them eventually.

By the way, I say turn off your notifications, I don’t just mean social media. I also mean turning off your email notifications and all other notifications that come from your phone and computer — except absolutely necessary ones. For example, I have social media and email off, but my texts are still on because that’s how my family communicates with me.

By turning off your notifications, you’ll just have more time to truly focus on your tasks instead of getting derailed with every little ping. Plus, you’ll have more opportunities to set aside dedicated time to do things like work on your inbox, intentionally engage on social media, work on admin tasks, and be present with your team.

Time blocking tip 2: Batch everything

We entrepreneurs have this funny idea that we sometimes think we can stop time and cram all of our tasks into one day. If you relate to this, I don’t want you to feel ashamed! Entrepreneurship is hard, and there are so many moving parts requiring our attention for our business to run smoothly. That’s why I’m such a fan of batching.

Batching means taking time to prepare, arrange, and schedule pieces of content ahead of time so they’re ready to go. You can think of it like meal prepping, but for business tasks. Batching is crucial because it lets us avoid cramming, constantly spending needless time trying to create content, and trying to get our minds to refocus.

In my coaching and wedding businesses, I batch emails, social media content, and Reels. This allows me to go all-in on these important aspects, but then once they’re set up and scheduled, I’m free to move on to the next set of tasks.

If you need some extra help learning how to batch, you would love my Reels course, where I teach you how to batch a month’s worth of Reels in just one hour! Check out how by clicking here.

Time blocking tip 3: Set an end time for your day

It might seem counterintuitive to set a strict end time to your day, but when you have less time to get something done, you’re likely to be more productive. That’s because you won’t have all night to spend time on work.

Give yourself an end time to your workday so that you have a reason to focus on your tasks and the motivation to knock out the things on your to-do list!

You’re ready to time block like a pro!

Hopefully, after reading this post, you feel a little more prepared to tackle your week in a more efficient way! I totally understand that sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming to put all this into practice, though, so I’d love for you to join me over in The Wedding Pro CEO Community where we will dig into these and other time-saving tricks to help you get back your life and build a business you love!