Block Scheduling
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Not perfect. Boxes, not minutes. If a box gets blown, skip it. Don’t make it up later.
Assumptions (edit freely): Wake 4:00, 9-5 work, 14mo wakes ~6:30, bedtime ~7:30, lights out ~9:00.
Weekday skeleton (Mon-Fri)
| Window | Box |
|---|---|
| 4:00-4:30 | Meditate 10 min + journal 10 min (pick today’s ONE thing) |
| 4:30-5:15 | Exercise |
| 5:15-6:30 | Personal work. Your best brain, zero interruptions. |
| 6:30-8:45 | Family morning (kid, breakfast, out the door) |
| 9:00-5:00 | Work |
| 12:00-12:30 | Lunch + walk, or swap laundry |
| 5:00-6:00 | Cook (make 2x, eat tomorrow) |
| 6:00-7:30 | Dinner + kid bedtime routine |
| 7:30-8:15 | Wife time. Phone away. |
| 8:15-8:45 | Chore box (see below) |
| 8:45-9:00 | Journal: did it? Tomorrow’s one thing + smallest next step. |
| 9:00 | Lights out (4am needs ~7 hrs) |
Chore box by night (8:15-8:45)
- Mon: Laundry fold + tidy
- Tue: Kitchen reset
- Wed: Bathrooms (20 min cap)
- Thu: Laundry fold + tidy
- Fri: Off. Rest, date night, whatever. Stay up later if you want.
Weekend
- Sat AM: Wake whenever, or keep 4:00 for one personal-work block (2 hrs)
- Sat PM: Batch cook for the week + laundry loads + deeper clean
- Sun AM: Family time
- Sun 30 min (during nap): Weekly review. Look at the week ahead, drop boxes onto the calendar, pick 3 priorities.
Journal / writing system
Daily (5 min, 2x):
- AM: “Today’s one thing:” + “Smallest next step (<25 min):”
- PM: “Did it? Y/N. What’s next?” One line.
Breaking tasks down: Keep splitting until the next step is something you could start right now without thinking. “Work on site” is not a task. “Open the repo and write the failing test for X” is.
Weekly (Sunday): What got done, what slipped, what to drop. Pick 3 priorities max.
YouTube
It’s not an illusion, it’s a default. Fix the default:
- Give it a box: Friday night. Everything else goes on a “watch later” list.
- When you catch yourself opening it, write one line in the journal: what were you avoiding? That’s your next step.
- Log in only on the TV, not the phone/laptop, for 2 weeks.
Start small (week 1)
Don’t run the whole thing. Pick three boxes: AM journal, wife time, one personal-work block. Add one box per week.