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The rolling time block method
Welcome to The Productivity Blueprint newsletter 🗞️
Last week, we dove into meditation. We hope you got the chance to practice this technique!
If you missed last week, you can catch up here 🙂
Today, we will be looking at a new way of time blocking. If you are not familiar with this topic, we have a previous newsletter published that may help if you are curious!
“Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else”
This method keeps the structure of time blocking but adds flexibility so you can adapt as the day unfolds. Instead of locking every hour in stone, you create a rough map and then adjust on the fly.
How it works
Pick a handful of areas of activity—the main categories of work in your day (like Deep Work, Meetings, Admin).
At the start of each day, jot down when you’ll be working and create time blocks for these areas.
As reality shifts, move those blocks forward, shorten them, or swap them. The schedule rolls with you instead of fighting you.
Why it helps
The rolling format lowers the stress of unexpected changes and makes your plan more realistic. You still guide your time with intention but stay flexible enough to handle curveballs. It also forces you to face how long tasks truly take, leading to sharper estimates in the future.
Watch for pitfalls
It’s easy to keep pushing off a tough task if you don’t set limits.
Tracking changes takes attention—if you skip that, you lose the insights.
Bottom line: it blends the clarity of a schedule with the give-and-take of real life, which is often where productivity gains stick.
 This is a book written by the author of this weeks newsletter. It dives into topics of how to be more productive at work, and every other part of our lives. What we love? 96% of Google Users enjoy the book, it has a 3.9/5 on Goodreads and a 4.5/5 on Audible! |  A cross-platform journaling app that is a great place to utilize the rolling time block method. What we love? You can post what activities you completed during the day to look back on in the future. The app allows you to add photos, videos, and audio messages to each posting. |
💡 Challenge of the week
Try this version of rolling time-blocks for five working days:
Day 1: Identify 3–5 areas of activity that fill most of your work hours. For example: Deep Work, Meetings, Admin, Learning.
Day 2–5: Each morning, block your day based on those areas. Leave some slack for unexpected stuff. In the afternoon, revisit: what changed? Which blocks needed moving? Note what caused changes.
At end of week, journal these questions:
- Which blocks you constantly moved or delayed? Why?
- Did any area of activity feel under-represented?
- How did your energy align (or misalign) with your planned blocks?
If you try this challenge, I’d love to hear how it goes. Hit “reply” and tell me the biggest surprise you ran into.
Catch you next week with another article & tools!
Until next week,
The Productivity Blueprint Team
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