Time Blocking, Theme Days & Your Ideal Week

Using “theme days” to make time blocking work for you

Let me tell you about “theme days.”

If you’ve been an entrepreneur or a student of productivity tools for any length of time, you’re probably very familiar with the concept of time blocking. It’s taking a large chunk of time, even up to a full day, and filling it by doing the same thing: writing, recording, crafting images, social media scheduling, meeting with clients, etc.

For some people, this concept works wonders! But, for others, it can feel a bit constraining.

If you’re in that second camp, “theme days” may be the perfect solution for you. It’s an approach that allows you to chunk activities while allowing you flexibility. Here’s how it works.

(It’s only a 2-step process, really. So this is something you can get started with today!)

Step One: look at the themes you have in your business

For example, I have three themes in my business: client days, working on my business, and creative days. When I look at all the activities that I accomplish to run my business, I can safely say they fall under one of those categories. You may have a few more, or different ones, but make sure you make them general enough that they serve as buckets for the individual tasks you do.

Step Two: assign your tasks to the themes

Then think about all the activities in your business that might fall under the categories you’ve chosen. For me, on client days, I do client prep work, schedule client appointments, dictate session notes, etc. I usually have two days dedicated to that. On days I’m working on my business, I review or tweak my budget, handle bills, respond to emails, work on website development, social media scheduling, etc. Finally, on my creative day/s, I can truly lean into working on graphics or writing, or other fun parts of my business with the music pumped and no worries about having to stop and start something a bit more serious.

In this episode, you’ll discover how I use theme days in my life and business, and how they’ve allowed me the freedom and flexibility I need and want as an entrepreneur, mom, and wife. They’ve allowed me to be accountable to my clients, my family, and my need for rest as a business owner. Are you working at another job and wondering how you could ever incorporate this idea into your life? Try theme nights, or theme mornings, or theme afternoons - whatever works for your schedule!

Finally, recommended resources

Also inside the episode, I mentioned some resources to help you move forward with theme days.

And, of course, remember to schedule time for rest, friend - no matter what day it is! Because, yes, say it with me: good rest fuels great work!