Managing the “Nothing” Time

From time to time, I write about leaving “blank blocks of time” in your schedule. I love to do this as a way to leave space for creativity.

Recently, I had a couple of conversations that made me realize how difficult this can be. In addition to feeling selfish, some people simply can’t so NO to the rest of the world and put their own personal or business priorities first.

The big problem, which we all share, is that the world seems to demand more and more of our time every day (week, month, year). The world appears to be going faster all the time. We have a thousands streams of information where we used to have a hundred. Our phones and tablets and computers beep and tweet and interrupt us all day, and – if you let them – all night.

It feels very much like we are not in control of anything.

So, how do you find time to do things that really are important to you? In my case, I constantly struggle to keep my writing time isolated from everything else. But if writing “wins” for a block of time, something else loses.

A few months ago, I blocked off a very large piece of my weekly calendar for marketing. I try very hard to execute significant marketing activities during that time. And I fully admit, that’s a struggle. It’s definitely easier said than done.

If you’re trying to set aside blocks of time to be productive on a specific thing, here are a few tips for managing those blank blocks – which I refer to as “the Nothing” in your schedule.

Tips:

First, Don’t tell people about it! You should actually tell one person about your plan to block off time for a specific kind of work. This should be someone you trust, and then empower that person to hold you accountable. How did you use your Nothing time this week?

You shouldn’t tell anyone else because they will see a block of your time as a big, juicy opportunity to put more things on your list of to-dos! They don’t mean to take advantage of you. It’s just the way of the world. Other people will encroach on your time until it’s all gone. You have to enforce the blank blocks of time strategy!

Second, try to schedule your blocks at the same time every week. I highly recommend that you don’t schedule them for late in the day. You’re more tired, and probably less creating at the end of the day. And research shows that you have less will power at the end of the day than you do at the beginning. Whenever you schedule your blank blocks, try to make it the same every week (for example, 10 AM – Noon every Tuesday).

Third, Start small. Schedule a one-hour block. Then move up to two hours. And, if you need to, maybe move to two two-hour blocks of time. Don’t try to block off an entire day the first time you do this. It would almost certainly be a failure. Ease into it. Create some success. Then expand.

Fourth, Keep a log. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You could just jot a few notes into your calendar. What did you accomplish during you Nothing time? This is worth documenting. After all, you’re creating something from your Nothing time!

Fifth, You need to make this “Nothing” time a priority. I mention it last because you need to try it and find some success before you’ll feel comfortable making it a high priority. But once you have success, then it will just make sense to treat this time with the importance it deserves.

Ultimately, you can expect the world to continue to push it’s way onto your schedule. Like it or not, you’re the only one who can enforce this boundary. You need to avoid scheduling things in your blank blocks. The rest of the world never needs to see those blocks on your calendar. When people are organizing yet another meeting, you can simply say, “I can’t do it at that time. How is …?”

The Nothing time a try. I have had good success with it. I’m not perfect when it comes to protecting that time, but I do try very hard.

I’d love to hear how this worked for you! Or, if you have a better approach, I’d like to hear that as well.

Related blog post from 2019:
“Leave Gaps” – https://relaxfocussucceed.com/2019/05/leave-gaps/

🙂