I Ditched Google Calendar and Time Blocking - Here's Why

[@rebeccaw9656]

As a parent, I’ve struggled with calendar blocking because life with children and hormones is unpredictable. Bullet Journalling has been my constant for 5 years now, but I use it as part of a hybrid system with technology (a calendar app and note taking app such as Notion for digital collections). Life is full of chapters and cycles, you got this! Congratulations for your growing family❤️

[@allisonbeaulieu8317]

How do you come up with ideas for prompts and designs for your bullet journals?

[@rebeccaw9656]

@@allisonbeaulieu8317 I use the original Ryder Caroll Method. I've tried adding creativity to my bullet journal in the early days... but with kids and a lot to do, simplified is best for me.

[@blaqt107]

@@rebeccaw9656 oh my gosh! I needed a parent to respond on their experience and insight. Thank you!!! Yes like with children and hormones does not help!! I usually find ppl without kids do the vodeos or comment on these. I cannot relate, because I have kids. I will attempt to try both. Block and simple bujo. Again thank you.

[@rebeccaw9656]

@@blaqt107 I find as long as I have all of my appointments in my Google Calendar, which I can also add tasks and Reminders on my phone on the fly; and brain dump in my daily logs of my bullet journal every morning; and have a digital note taking app on my phone/ipad/computer to keep all of my digital collections (links to websites, ideas, research, photos, etc)... I can pretty much deal with life, most of the time with kids and hormones😆.

[@marisamusic11]

this is exactly the combo i use & i feel it slowly fixing my brain. minimalist bujo / notion / google calendar is dream team

[@sallyeames1682]

In case no one else has told you, you ARE being productive. It's just that now, your body and brain are producing an entire human being. So you are accomplishing something huge.

[@marieke-2736]

As someone with ADHD this video feels like huge validating hug ❤

[@alexthorpe510]

Also adhd and also on the spectrum here... Good video

[@finonna6174]

Recovering from a burnout, I just can't time block anymore either.

[@opedrosrego]

For real, you describe perfectly the feeling I had watching this video! I really hate the sensation I was having not accomplishing the tasks at the right times. Right now I am using the method that she shows. Surprisingly working very very well for me! I am really happy doing it.

[@ElinWinblad]

As fellow adhd I have blocks but those blocks have no real specific date or times just oh feeling like cleaning- activate cleaning block and then I try to do tasks in it that have been piling up on to do list

[@mariannerady1137]

I have developed a chronic illness, so my energy levels have been up and down for a couple of years. It was hard for me to accept I had to sleep more, take naps, have unproductive days and pain. It is not about 'try harder!' but to find what works for you and accept that. Not easy yet the best way to feel better about your situation. So thanks for sharing your changed situation with us and how you've felt about it. All the best with your pregnancy, congratulations!

[@nicolejackson3133]

I have a chronic illness and developed an autoimmune disease. I understand everything you wrote.

[@juliedrakeArtist]

As a mother of four it did make me giggle when you said maybe I won’t have a system for a couple of weeks! More like a couple of decades 😂

[@ClickHappy]

Wonderful video. As a mother of two, I find it disappointing when an idea proposed by my favorite personalities doesn’t suit my life at all and starts a line of questions about my motivation and abilities. So it is really good to see this honest share from you and assures me all said and done, something that works for 1000 other moms might not work for me now. It is not a derivative of my capabilities ❤️

[@mariana-vieira]

Well said! ❤️

[@yoursoulempower]

This is awesome for someone who has ADHD. I realize that writing tasks down pen to paper is actually pretty useful, and when I have events, appts, meeting I add that to the online calendar to remember. I think my question is how do you Time these tasks, do you use a kind of timer method? I’m interested to know based on how you focus your energy on each task, take breaks etc. Thanks!!

[@ZaritaTheFloridian]

I recently discovered, have ADHD, and like you appointment in Google calendar with notifications are essential. ADHD I'm finding that I've been doing this method for a few weeks. But as we know ADHD time calculations are a problem. What I have found is that I log & timestamp when I do things and it's starting to give me an idea of amounts of time. when I have high energy levels, when I get distracted, etc. So I recommend not worrying too much at the beginning and just do one thing at a time, but logging everything. You'd be surprised how you start noticing patterns, good and bad ones, where you can improve, and eventually calculate time needed. Another thing that is working for me is that I work with Annual, quarter goals that get turned into projects. I pick my projects (usually 3, but can be one). The projects I choose get broken down into steps, and go onto a board. From the board & my calendar I decide what to tackle each week. So basically my board is my weekly spread. Every morning or the day before I do similarly as Nathalie does. Just focus on the days task.

[@IndianaWilliamsChannel]

I have ADHD and I use both systems time blocking and a physical planner. I have tested 1 year digital and another year physical. They didn't work separately, and now I have both in my life and have worked for me. To dont lose time on each task, I do use my alarm. My community speaks Spanish in my channel, and I will be doing a video. If you like, I could do the same video explaining my method. Maybe it works for you. I actually, today I did have a time management training for the Brokerage I work. I am looking forward to seeing your thoughts.

[@yoursoulempower]

@@ZaritaTheFloridian So awesome your insight Zarita. I really like your board implementation. I will try to incorporate separating the projects as you said quarterly & break them down into steps. Oof so many juicy things for me to implement. I will start the logging as you mentioned as well in a separate notebook for my records. Thank you!

[@yoursoulempower]

@@IndianaWilliamsChannel Yes that would be great to hear about your experience and what works for you in relation to time. I also know Spanish so I would understand if you do a post on this. Thanks :)

[@Belgarathe]

The creator of bullet journal also had adhd. It was his way to deal his attention issue

[@georgehowelliii5666]

You are the one that got me to use calendar blocking. I thank you for your honesty about it and how it doesn’t work for you at this time. You make not keeping up with it; feel better! Thanks for your honesty and help! If you find a better system to help you manage things; please tell us. Because, you never know who may need to hear and see it in action.❤️❤️

[@ohkkknice]

I combine using a daily list with Google Calendar, but I only use the Calendar to track where my time goes during the day. So no time blocking, just time tracking. That helps me keep things flexible.

[@mariana-vieira]

That's a great idea!

[@Tired_Night_Owl_in_the_Woods]

I tried calendar blocking thanks to you and it saves my sanity as I am juggling work, university and personal life 😅 But my schedule is quite predictable 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I do not micromanage, I have just big junks that are dedicated to one of the three parts of my life. Thus, structure stays the same but I can be flexible with tasks and goals for a day.

[@nusabygrace]

Thank you for sharing I'll do that too.🤍

[@emomz]

I never got on with calendar blocking at a weekly level. I just do it daily when I need to plan what fits in my day. Usually I find myself thinking not so much in blocks as in an order I’m which I’ll do tasks (usually by priority). I’ll plan to do A then B then C, and if I don’t get to C, fine! Works so well around mental health conditions, kids, pregnancy and a generally busy, non-routine life.

[@davidjgomez]

It seems what works better to me is a combination of calendar blocking technique for some specific tasks and the simple list one.

[@dawnjeffersramstad8401]

Marianne, well said. I am a pastor and homemaker.The bullet journal method is excellent for those of us who have to allow for other's crises impacting my work flow. As I am now 66, I find I have to manage my energy again. It's not as severe as my 2 pregnancies, but I do draw from what I learned as a mother of infants/toddlers.

[@MsRizz100]

❤❤❤

[@lauraleediallo5066]

I appreciate this! It’s tough to find videos on productivity during pregnancy. And “I don’t know, I have no clue” is such a feeling during pregnancy lol it’s tough to implement plans when your symptoms change day to day or week to week. Congratulations!

[@allieraiderntn]

I previously used calendar blocking and then I had kids & had to let go of it as well due to the nature of their rapid changing growth with unpredictable needs that don’t fit well with a very structured day. Thank you for this video!! I use a variety of tools which started out very similar to your current philosophy you discussed in this video. I currently use a calendar for fixed events, reminders app for all for reoccuring & one time tasks and then the notes app with each hour designating what I did. I also made pre-made routines which typically stay the same day-to-day with the fabulous app. When something big changes in my life I usually tweak my systems so mine are very piecemeal 😆 but it’s helped me to stay very productive & to keep track of what is important with 3 kids. Wishing you a healthy & happy pregnancy and family 💕

[@debbiel8380]

Thank you for making this video. I used to struggle with insomnia and got really frustrated when I couldn't follow my calendar. I basically started doing what you are doing and took things slower based on my energy levels

[@solipse.]

Actually, Time blocking and time management are skills that rarely works for most of the people. I heard from someone to do focus management instead, and it seem better, because if we know what we want to focus next, it will makes us want to do more. Time management doesn’t mean that we will be focus on doing the task.

[@wangwang1488]

Yes that, and energy management.

[@christinemclaughlin4913]

Thank you for this. I have used time-blocking on my phone and have attempted different adaptations of bullet journaling, but I always wind up frustrated due to a chronic illness that causes my energy levels to vary with each day. Though I am semi-retired, I still want to live intentionally. So thank you so much for sharing this! I am so glad I stumbled on your channel. I am going to now look at the video you did when you made the switch. May you be richly blessed with the future arrival of your baby. 😊

[@Heather.C.ButterflySage]

Love your channel and content. So helpful, especially for those of us who are not as organized and structured. 🕊✨💕

[@Strawation]

I love this video because it explains so well to me why my time management system is the way it is now. When I have the entire day to myself and I'm staying in my own apartment, calendar blocking is my life. Whenever I have to leave my hermit cave, I block out the entire day for the interaction and give myself a short to-do list and a task I can work on the phone while waiting for dinner to start, the board game to be chosen, the kid to stop using me as a pillow, the people to get ready to leave, etc.

[@elenavaipan]

I am so happy you posted this video! I've been trying calendar blocking for a few years, but it never really helped me and I've been beating myself up for not being productive enough and for not being able to stick to my schedule. The list method works so much better for me and there's nothing wrong with that!

[@mariana-vieira]

Exactly! You can do it! 💪

[@Salvadorherreraofficial]

What about a Hybrid middle ground system using both at the same time

[@elenavaipan]

@@Salvadorherreraofficial It can work for some people, I'm sure. The important thing is to choose what system works best for you!

[@paularies3282]

When I was in my 20's working and going to school full time I did calendar blocking. Now that I'm disabled the 2-3 goals per day is what my therapist suggested after constantly beating myself up over not being able to keep up like I used to. I have good/bad energy days that I can't predict. So this is really disabled friendly ❤

[@musiiic3]

love that you include the disclaimer that time blocking might not be for those with health issues! I felt very seen

[@rocknrollchemist9406]

As a parent, I definitely had to adapt again and again. I lean on journaling too and never did it until I hit 40. Beautiful spreads aren’t doable for me. I keep it simple.

[@ChinaPlayList]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Parabens! It is wonderful what your are going through, and it is very normal that highly productive women feel strange and a bit frustrated when entering this new phase. But let me say two things: 1) you are "building" a fully functioning human being 24/7, so your body is correctly allocating its energy... its just that today you internal work is more important and demanding than your external one 😉 and 2) everything in the next few years will be going from a phase to the next phase, all of them messy at first. Be patient and loving with yourself ❤️. Looking forward for your journey to motherhood!!! 🤗

[@ricebeansrockroll882]

I have chronic pain, and I definitely agree on calander blocking not working to plan anymore. However, one thing I do still do is sit down and just block off my schedule to see how much time I have, roughly, and when. That way I can kinda try to play around with stuff to see _if_ I can increese my energy, reduce my pain, for those blocks. I also block stuff like cleaning and just downtime/recovery. Not to actually do the stuff at those times, but just to get an idea of how many hours i _actually_ have in my week, and not beat myself up about "not getting more done". Like if I go to office I have 1,5 hours at home when I get home before I need to go to bed to even seem human the day after, so I'm ok with not getting stuff done then. Instead I might, on a good day, get some small stuff (like dishes, or some of the dishes) done to have a bit more wiggle room on the weekend. Idk, i feel like it's all about creating margins for myself.

[@aida087]

OMYGOD Mariana, thank you so much for sharing!! It's funny I used to use bullet journaling, and went to calendar blocking, but I've struggled with calendar blocking and day planners because I could never keep up with them because of my irratic schedule: classes-papers-powerpoint presentations/family obligations/short-term memory issues etc!! Bullet journal sounds like something I really want to try!! And blessings to you and your bundle of joy!!❤️🥰🙏🏼

[@ruthvalles3080]

Congratulations !! God bless you in your new life.. Enjoy your moment being a mom. Our whole world changes completely but the most beautiful thing is when we work everything with love, and dedicate those special moments with our babies. Always do what makes you feel comfortable and happy. Keep going. Thank you for always sharing all your ways to be productive in every day.

[@mariana-vieira]

Thank you!! 😊

[@itaaish]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! As a parent I’m excited to see tips involving your new role as a mom. Parents are managing so much including our own energy/ mental health, etc so the experience is ..interesting. Haha looking forward to learning what changes/works for you going forward.

[@rajeshwarihemmadi3229]

Beautiful video on a new season of life...enjoy this season with new life growing within u... do take care of self......god bless u & ur baby💕

[@adelepiraprez4014]

I use daily to-do lists, plus colors to sort out work related/urgent/quick tasks etc., I also write an estimation of the time the longer tasks will take

[@senorpedro8192]

That’s what I found as well. Calendar blocking is good when you are young and have energy all day but when you get older you have to schedule based on your energy throughout the day and maximise when you have the most energy

[@michelles.7804]

I have been doing calendar blocking for months, but I have been getting overwhelmed and frustrated with myself from it. Now I am using notion (Jeff Su and Thomas Franks tasks and project management system). I LOVE it! I would 100% use bullet journalling, if I I didn't have so many tasks from my job. Digital just works for me for personal and work. I also realize I have a very limited amount of energy and I have to safe guard it. Thanks for sharing this video! :)

[@Vercopaanir]

I really appreciated this video and especially the bit about how time blocking doesn’t HAVE to work for me, because I’ve tried it a few times and always feel guilty and stressed when I “fail”! So thank you for sharing :)

[@Belgarathe]

I think you hit the nail on head. Fluctuation of energy due to demands of others on you takes it toll on every parent especially the mothers. Do what works and gets the ball moving. If you want an extra stuff to track check out checking hrv. This can be interesting to see how your body is actually doing compared to how you are feeling.

[@remoterish]

I just keep 5 major time blocks for each day and that helps me get a direction for the day. for me, those 30 min or 1 hour small time blocks don't work at all. most of my time blocks are now 3-4 hours just to understand what's the theme for that part of the day. I find this better than not blocking time at all

[@nikit.5240]

Time blocking is like budgeting our time! Love that analogy.

[@DanielGallegos1]

I agree, we need to reflect more on why we’re using these systems and once we do, that can help us evaluate which system we’ll keep.

[@tinnie75]

While calendar blocking sounds great for someone like me, who likes a routine and doing specific things at specific times or at least in specific sequences, I was never able to make it work for me. Especially because I've never been able to accurately guess how much time I'll need on certain tasks and also because a lot of the goals or things I want to accomplish in a day are things I want to get done but not things I have to get done. So those always get pushed around for something else that has a higher priority or other reasons. But also a big struggle of calendar blocking is when other people are involved. I'm someone who likes to plan things ahead and do them at specific times but my family is the opposite. So I may calendar block making dinner at a specific time but if someone else in my household decides to randomly make dinner at the same time or shortly before, I may have to wait. And there are many things throughout the day when this can happen and I always get blamed for not being flexible, when I just want to use my time effectively.

[@tempestian]

You should look at the block schedule Jordan Page uses. It has remnants of time blocking, but is much more flexible. It was a Godsend to me during my early-motherhood years. My kids are 8 and 4 now and I've just recently started moving back into proper time blocking.

[@thedanalcantara]

What I’ve found for me is that I have certain days for certain kinds of work (I’m a pastor and also taking a training course alongside). So Monday is always a set for studying, then Tuesdays I do admin, and it’s sort of works like that. I guess it’s a kind of time blocking but on a slightly larger scale.

[@viiperbiite]

calendar blocking honestly just doesn’t work for me. I stress myself out and find that I never have time for what I need or want to do. Instead, I just schedule only my sleep, meals classes or assignments and plan out and prioritise the rest of the tasks I need/want to get done the next day and try to finish them as the day goes and get the rest done the next day or later.

[@samyra]

thank you for this. I always felt kinda bad when I couldn't use your tips, because of my autism, adhd en cptsd. This really helps

[@rur.feywilde]

Gcal works great for my family because I can share the kids' calender with my husband, along with my own schedule. But I use a planner on goodnotes to manage my To Done lists and things I personally need to do or be at. I basically mesh gcal and a bulletish planner. ❤

[@Maria-ok7oe]

I use calendar blocking and a to-do list per day or week (dependent on how much work I have). And to be fair, it works great because I can adapt my to-do tasks to my energy level while also having strict times for free-time and work-time which almost eradicates procrastination and overworking due to hyper-focusing. I also have a few calendar-block types that I can move throughout the day, which makes it possible to have a nap when im faking asleep or something unexpected came up, adding to the flexibility while keeping the amount of free-time and work-time constant

[@ricebeansrockroll882]

I like this idea

[@art_math_enjoy]

Mariana, hopefully, you are well. Thanks for the good videos

[@LindseyHazel]

I completely relate to this since I’m 35 weeks pregnant and was super productive pre-pregnancy even with a 23mo boy! The bullet journal one-page spread has been a game changer and I’m happy to hear that I’m not the only one who feels that way! We will probably ditch everything for a few weeks when the babies get here but that’s okay- we’ll find what works for us again! Love your videos! 😘

[@mariana-vieira]

Our due date is only two weeks apart! Best of luck to you in this new stage and I hope everything goes smoothly ❤️

[@thekarencervantes]

Congratulations ladies 🥰 as a new mom myself, I have two under two my girl is 22mo and boy is 4 months, I just started calendar blocking again 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 after almost 2 yrs 😅😅😂 I still keep a simple list bullet journal, my notes app, notion and now calendar blocking is definitely letting me do more with my babies and my me time + home + business errands 🥵😆🙌🏻 I recommend you sleep train your babies as soon as you can so you can rest 💤 and slowly learn your new systems as a new mom 😍 you got this ! Enjoy your newborns as they do grow up fast 💕💕💕

[@habeebahoyedokun5634]

I love this, pregnancy and children changes ones life completely. Don't stress, you are doing great with a whole human in your belly. So happy you got something that works for you.🎉

[@HeyLauryn]

I always struggle with calendar blocking for the same reasons. Could never stay on task and like to go with my energy especially this last year after catching covid. This has been the first few weeks that I’ve been “productive” in a long time and I’m think switching back to a bullet journal for daily planning with a digital calendar to keep track of appointments and deadlines is the better option. Though bullet journals tend to feel wasteful for me because I can’t keep up with them, so I might stick with the daily task pad that I found from an eco-friendly office company. I did end up finding

[@ditsaa]

I had to drop calendar blocking too. And to also stop weekly and monthly spreads. Simple todo app tasks list is what I do now. Tasks just get done whenever. Energy levels are changing for most people. So I wonder how much of this is just your pregnancy or just changes that everyone is feeling.

[@PastelJoyDesigns]

Mariana this vid was so validating for me! Thank you for sharing your experience! I have a chronic condition where my energy levels fluctuate so much, like Chronic Fatigue but its much worse. I have struggled so much with planning my time i have tried everything and working from home you become hyper aware of your workflow style. I also believe i have undiagnosed ADHD so you can only imagine Im very up or very down lol 😵‍💫 i make myself dizzy lol. What you were saying about sticks with what works for you was so validating!!!!!! All this time ive been trying to put myself in a box with time management and trying time blocking but it doesnt work for me! A simple to do list with priorities is what works. I just need to accept that im not neurotypical and neurotypical doesnt suit me and THATS OKAY! Thank you again…huge epiphany moment for me thank you 🙏

[@howliteandcoffee]

My energy was nonexistent in my first trimester (or rather, the extreme nausea kind of made it hard to do anything except be in a dark room), but you know who else calendar blocking doesn’t work for? People with chronic illnesses that impact our energy levels. I use a timer instead and set time goals and time budgets for the week for various aspects. That works better for my unpredictable energy.

[@hanany88]

Thank you. When I got pregnant I found it hard to follow any schedule and I felt so inefficient and it was so hard glad it sounds like it's normal even now still as mom of two a toddler and baby. This is important to identify the season your in.

[@ditsaa]

Thanks for sharing. Makes me feel validated in my decisions too.

[@nunomesquita1459]

É raro ver uma portuguesa fazer um vídeo tão bom. Também utilizo BJ há 2 anos como "time management" e como apontamento de simples notas. E tem funcionado muito bem. Parabéns pelo video.

[@makenalee228]

i have ocd anxiety and depression but i still wanted to try time blocking on google calendar to organize my school, work and life balance. it ended up triggering my ocd and anxiety when i couldn’t decide how to plan everything perfectly (i was spending hours trying to plan and wasn’t getting anything done) and it made me depressed when i couldn’t even follow it in the first place. i went back to making daily to-do lists and checking off tasks as i completed them and it works so much better for me, so i’m glad i’m not the only one!

[@MarianaArboledaF]

You really spoke to me in this video! Thank you for keeping it real and simple

[@vavu1503]

Wish you a happy pregnancy dear. Me too gone through same phase. Yes this method works wonders, when you think you are a total failure. I am basically now following this method. Time blocking never worked for me, especially in my pregnancy.

[@zalika5008]

When you started saying that you’re not able to predict your energy and mood… i thought 💭if she doesn’t know she’s pregnant yet, she soon will 😅 Welcome to motherhood 🎉 You’re entering into a whole new “version” of yourself. Great tips, the system will grow with you and your family 😊

[@rosebenton1126]

As a chronically ill disabled parent I am not able to calendar block. I list my appointments and work schedule at the top. Then my one area I am going to work on in the house then my 3 todos for the day. Some days I do not get everything done because I am to sick or unable to function that day. I just try to give myself grace and understanding.

[@chandantk5135]

Actually the problem with the calendar is we block certain time for our tasks and because life's so unpredictable we end up rescheduling our tasks and I personally did this on and on and also felt sometimes trivial about scheduling and rescheduling and now I just write things down into my notes ( digital or pen and paper) and gaze at my clock and say to myself: okay 10:00 to 10:30 responding to emails, and that's how my entire day goes by ,also all the remainders I take it in my notes something named like deadline dates. The thing that I learnt from calendaring is tracking time which I do it in notes now😊

[@nataliyachereshnyuk]

I appreciate your videos as much as possible. Sometimes because of fresh ideas, sometimes because of calm style 😊. It’s important for me to hear from you, there’s the time when nothing familiar is working for your, depending on circumstances or just because 😊. Wish you an easier pregnancy period!

[@Flatability]

I have tried calendar blocking, but I just can't do it. I found I prefer to collate tasks in an analogue diary, allocating tasks to a specific day, but juggling those tasks actually on the day, almost like a deck of cards. Interesting - thanks for sharing.

[@patiakreles]

I have severe ADHD and for me while I was at a desk job calendar blocking allowed me to finish my projects in time. Now I'm switching jobs to something without projects and now I'm relying on my memory and visual queues. My goal is to feel better than before. I still do stuff, but in weird schedules.

[@suhanivbhatt]

Take care of yourself everyone! It's ok if you haven't been 'productive' lately, we're humans after all :)

[@GadgetsGearCoffee]

I mix calendar blocking and tasks for the day, I'm not too restrictive with my calendar blocking that's the diff. I make it work for me and be flexible

[@RachelLee]

Hi Mariana - great video and viewpoint! I'm ALSO a new mama and run a wedding videography business - and was also hit hard with low energy and lack of productivity and needing to adapt a new routine and system when pregnant and even still into motherhood. Im working on a video now about this but basically what has been making sense for me now is still having birdseye timeblocks and themes for each day but make a top 3 to-do list within that

[@NottaVideoSummary]

Counter blocking is a time management technique that involves setting a specific task for a specific time block in your calendar or schedule. It allows you to create a budget for your time and helps you balance your life between work and leisure. However, counter blocking may not be suitable for everyone, especially when energy levels become unpredictable or when unexpected events occur. In such cases, it may become toxic and stop working altogether. An alternative is using a bullet journal which involves writing down three tasks or goals for each day without setting any deadlines or scheduling tasks. This allows for accommodation of energy fluctuations and unexpected events. Daily spreads are also created using a single page to-do list without monthly or weekly spreads. The bullet journal technique helps to simplify time management and planning. ----From Notta's video summarizer

[@jeanmarccourtiade]

This is what you discover when you're no longer single/in-couple-with-no-child/in-a-corporate-job/around-30 (or a mix of those), and start building your own family. These techniques become efficient again when you go back to your (corporate or not) job in which you can be focused (but not during the first year of a baby...) and, most of all, when kids grow up 🙂It is not possible to be super effective all the time, and we have to accept that we cannot do everything that we had planned, without guilt, especially as our priorities change. My wife and I have been through that for a good decade.

[@veschlos1]

I needed to hear this, thank you!

[@allyeatworld]

me too! i was time blocking/tracking for 2 years over covid (because time was so hard to keep track of then i'd lose track of days) and recently swapped to a much simpler system focussing on just tracking to-do's and habits :) not a parent or anything - i just found that time-tracking ended up becoming tedious for me, and focussing more on just getting stuff done, rather than how i use my time, was more productive!

[@ValentinaGulpe]

What an amazing channel :) From one creator to another :) Love your content !

[@mariana-vieira]

Thank you so much!

[@FaustoFonseca]

Can't you do both? You can assign tasks to days but then in the morning do time blocking for each one of them. Also, when we start seeing things happening every day like the need of a nap or that we can't put too many things in a day, we can adjust for the next days. We can buffer more time between tasks for instance, we can allocate time for naps even if we don't use it, etc. Basically you're tracking kind of like the Agile speed and adjusting it to your reality.

[@abdultheoneandonly6503]

Hey where would you store tasks for later? like something you like to do next week?

[@bruna_marchiori]

Que conteúdo maravilhoso, Mariana - além da notícia da gravidez, parabéns e muita saúde para vocês ❤ Acompanho o canal faz um bom tempo, então é interessante acompanhar como as estratégias de produtividade mudam por aí também Um abraço!

[@glacyneyla-lifestyle]

My energy is different day to day and bullet journaling is my best way to go too. ^^

[@BartvanderHorst]

I like interstitional journaling in logseq... it is amazing. It is a combination of bulletjournaling... todo, planning it is all in one. you never have to leave your daily page.

[@MaybeTiberius]

as a minimalist in a lot of aspects, i always found people using calendars all day kind of uncomfortable somehow. like i know, sometimes we have certain dates we have to remember like: next friday i need to go to the doctor or next sunday my mum has birthday or whatever but i was never able to get my head around how... or why... people schedule their entire day. if i have SO MUCH to do, that i need to schedule my days 24/7...maybe i just have too much to do in the first place. i only have one life, noone enjoys being stressed out and time is about the most valuable thing a person has. you know: if you dont take your time, you never will have time. i think i never in my life used a calendar, other that for quick reminders. i just wake up, know what stuff i have to do this week, then i just go to work and come home at some point and i just try to do those things i have to do sometime on that day or week whenever it fits. if i know that i have to buy some milk, i ll just go buy some milk whenever i feel like i have some spare time to do that, i dont need to put that into my calendar. literally the only things i have on my calendar are reminders for lets say aquarium maintenace, or plant maintenance every x days, returning so that when i wake up, i ll get a notification on my phone to remember me that i have to do check on plants sometime today. thats about it really. and i have a small blank notebook laying around where if there is something coming up i have to do, i just write it down, and once week or so looking into it to see what i have to do and then check those things once done. but i never plan any of that stuff for like specific days or hours or whatnot. i just do it when it fits its such a bizarre thing to me quite often when life and nature you can not plan. life just flows and you just jump on and surf the wave and adapt to what happens. yet humans try to ''mimic robots'' almost trying to shedule and plan everything until the planing and sheduleing becomes a second job in itself

[@howliteandcoffee]

I will say that for the first months after my baby was born, I found bullet journaling (underwhelming as it was) the easiest because my days/routines kept evolving. And it’s ok to flit between systems! Also, our productivity isn’t our value. Not being “as productive” as previously isn’t a bad thing, you’re making an entire human!

[@sebastiangarciamendoza9959]

The video I needed to watch. Thank u !!

[@Seolhwaneul]

OHMYGOD Congratulations!!! I don't know how I missed your last video but aaah so excited for you and your partner (husband?)!!

[@mariana-vieira]

Thank you so much!!

[@patriziarots3807]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@mariana-vieira]

🫶

[@jasmineloyola7750]

Congratulations!! Yes, pregnancy and motherhood really shakes up all the systems and predictability of life! Sleep all you can now and enjoy it Just gotta take things day by day 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@CopyMSaka]

i open a video about a topic i see a man I know its gonna be informative I see a women I know its gonna be about how we feel what we like and what I think. i know I sound like I am complaining but I don't mean so I just want to point out how we are different and that is beautiful, but what is even more beautiful is that you are bringing a new life to earth. God Bless you!

[@kgal1298]

See I'm worried about this right now because our company recently got a new head and is making it a requirement for everyone to timeblock and I'm like "ummm this may cause higher churn rates"

[@11h-d9q]

Do you know if google calendar events count towards your 15GB storage limit?

[@SayuriIera]

I've never used calendar blocking before because my time has always been easily influenced by the people around me (eg. my study sessions are always interrupted due to the fact that i work or my family would plan spontaneous trips etc etc) so i needed it to be flexible to avoid irritating myself. the thing that worked for me was dividing and listing out my tasks at the start of the week and time blocking to get it done. if its not done today, i do it again the next day. but i always move to the next task after two hours unless its something thats due absolutely right then. i mostly only use my calendar to track important things like birthdays and classes + revision sessions and webinars, etc etc owo

[@devarni]

For me, calendar blocking doesn't work very well. It might work for people like Bill Gates or Elon Musk, but they have a very different schedule than most of us ;) I only reserve blocks for things that are important to me.... all free blocks are _my_ time. That's where I do what my thing is. KZbinr will produce videos there, I sit in the studio and compose. Very simple and that's exactly how clear my calendar looks. Aside from not having tasks in my calendar, it works much better in my task manager (Todoist). I think that most time management systems are way too complicated and many are overwhelmed with it. It's not about who has the most complicated and pretty time management system, but who achieves their goals (and for that, a calendar and a notepad is enough).

[@papelmarfil]

This explanation of why you left color blocking is, sadly, giving me burnout flashbacks. I used to need naps very often at a certain point in my life after some years of making my productivity go up constantly. Then some other physical health issues ensued and I just had to stop everything altogether. Also, this overly controlled way to keep productivity up, and the way it seems to be linked to "self worth" = more productivity... triggers me a bit, haha. I've been trying very hard to unlearn that for a while. Anyway. Sorry to use this space for venting... Just hope you're not sailing on the same stress boat as me with a burn out collision course. I do enjoy the "tasks lists" approach, I reccomend it's flexibility. Flexibility is what I try to currently focus on nowadays to get things done, even if not all.

[@danielcatafal]

Congratulations!!

[@duskaf.5078]

I'm struggling with mental health and calendar blocking never worked for me. I felt really guilty about it because I wanted it to workout so badly. Now I prefer simple to do lists for ideal me and bare minimum I need to (for example there is a deadline)

[@soblub2243]

I worked on my timemanangement for many years and I have changed my System so often. Becoming a mom once again changed everything for me and in me. Since 2 years j work with blocking my day in 3 timeblocks (morning til Lunch- Lunch til dinner - after baby is asleep) and I work with sticky notes - so I dont feel Bad cause it isn't done (as a mom it is not unproducitivty that Tasks Arent done:D) I just put the task to another day and still out of my mind. Most important advice still I become a mom - housework when baby is awake and Digital work (combined with Favorite Snack and drink) when baby is asleep:)

[@Lillillu1001]

precisava muito desse vídeo hoje. obrigada

[@rodrigoavare1]

Parabéns Mariana, seu inglês é perfeito..!

[@FindingCharli]

This is super helpful! Do you mind sharing where we can purchase those notebooks you use? Thank you in advance! 😊

[@mariana-vieira]

In the description! 😌

[@aiqluxo1900]

Tava eu assistindo mais um vídeo no mar americano que é o KZbin, de repente me vem um “fazer doce de abóbora” na bullet list 😂❤️

[@thepassbtpod]

This confirmed why Bujo and Google Calendar are almost intertwined for my personal way of planning

[@MarysPlantBased]

I would love a calendar/planner app without time blocking. Honestly, time blocking majorly stresses me out. Yet phones are very convenient when I don’t have my physical planner with me all the time.

[@Nataliexgiselle]

lol this was eye-opening to when I become a future mom. Thanks for the insight!

[@thebritishindian1]

3:52 - Start I’m a guy, and the calendar blocking thing doesn’t work for me either. It’s mainly because there is a lot of friction in creating all of the blocks. I simply write my 3 tasks for the day too using Bullet Journalling. I write down all of the things I want to do for the upcoming week in my Bullet Journal every Sunday. Then on each day once (or if) I’ve finished my 3 tasks, I just go to my weekly task list and pick the next thing to do from there.