YataIn Yata, a time block is a special type of action that can have 1 or more parent action(s).
Use Case 1: Breaking up complex actions progressively
Sometime we have actions that aren’t easily broken down into smaller chunks. And usually, they take multiple sittings to get done. Such actions are often not only intimidating to tackle, incremental progress made doesn’t feel as rewarding as it should. Both of these factors mean that it’s more likely that we procrastinate on such actions.
Time blocks can relieve the stress and anxiety that comes from focusing too much on an action’s outcomes, by shifting that focus on effort instead.
Example
Take an action such as “Write the first draft of the essay” for example. If you had scheduled the action to be worked on for an hour, but didn’t complete it during that sitting, there is no reward for that. In fact, you are ‘punished’ by having an incomplete action left in the schedule.
Time blocks allow you to easily think in terms of smaller, manageable and actionable chunks. This is because you can think of a time block as an action that is considered complete once the allotted time has been spent on its parent action(s).
This means that regardless of whether you actually finished “Writing the first draft”, you can complete the time block and feel good about yourself, as you should!
Tip
After completing a time block, you can rename it to specify what exactly was achieved during that sitting, for general bookkeeping and also to help you plan ➡️ Next Actions.
Use Case 2: Action Batching
Time blocks also allows you to group similar (usually smaller) actions together and schedule a specific time to complete them all at once.
By tackling similar actions in a group, you’ll limit the amount of context switching you have to do throughout your day, saving precious time and mental energy.
Example
Scheduling a couple of 20-minute blocks to process email during the day may be more efficient and productive than checking your email every 15 minutes.