Many leaders spend too much time putting out fires. They wish they could improve their effectiveness. Some might even develop a strategy to improve, but few develop successful habits.

Time-blocking is one of the easiest ways to improve your effectiveness. What is time-blocking? It’s when you set aside a specific time each week in which you work on predetermined, important tasks or responsibilities.

Discover four key time-blocking techniques below!

For example, let’s say you have an important project that you want to complete. You want to finish writing a chapter in your upcoming book. To complete your chapter, set aside 1.5 hours per day, Monday through Friday. 

I encourage you to set aside premium time for such a task. If you are a morning person, the 1.5 hours should be in your best morning hours. If you are an evening person, set aside the time in your best evening hours. Setting aside premium time enables you to work at maximum capacity.

You want to complete a chapter of your book. However, to increase your effectiveness, develop a more specific goal.

For example, outline the chapter before you spend time writing. Determine how many pages you anticipate the chapter will be. If you want to write a 10-page chapter, that means you need to complete 2 pages per day during the week.

You may consider using apps to help you develop and stick to a plan. Evernote, Google Keep, and Google Tasks can help motivate and focus your efforts. Developing a concrete plan provides a clear goal and intensifies your efforts to achieve that goal.

View the time you block out as a personal appointment. It must not be disturbed, unless there is a true emergency. True emergencies are very rare. I often teasingly say, “They usually involve blood or death.”

You must choose to guard your set-aside time or something or someone will rob it. It requires great determination to guard your blocked-time. If emails or your phone can be a particular distraction, turn them off or place them away from you. Do what is necessary to use this time well.  

The more frequently you guard such time, the better you will become at doing so. Also, others will honor your “personal appointment.”

Use Stephen Covey’s time quadrant analysis to determine true "quadrant 2” tasks. These are tasks that are very important but not urgent. They are the truly important tasks that advance your company and improve your life.

They are also the tasks that most people neglect. Yet, if you consistently work on “quadrant 2” tasks, your life will become truly enjoyable and your company will thrive.  

As someone has said, “Time is the true equalizer.” Everyone has the same amount of it, but not everyone uses it the same. In fact, many people do not value time. Effective leaders, however, value their time greatly and wisely use it.  One key way to do so is by using a “time-blocking” strategy.