Hey! Something on HN I can finally comment on.<p>I've been time blocking for two years. It's the only strategy that works in my open office.<p>I've invested in a nice pair of headphones (Bose QC35s), in order to help convey the message to my coworkers that I am unavailable, as well as set an outlook appointment on a weekly basis for what hours I'll be blocking out.<p>You probably won't be good at it, at first. In the beginning for me, I still checked email, I still glanced at my phone...it was really only to stop interacting with my coworkers to focus on tasks.<p>However, over time, I got better at finding music that kept me focused. Placing my phone on DnD, and placing it in my bag, and closing outlook.<p>Colleagues began to understand what my 'time blocks' meant. As I did it more often it became effective.<p>Now people check my calendar for my daily time block to see when to come bother me, and I am able to be hyper focused on tasks for 2 hours a day.<p>My advice to anyone wanting to attempt this, is to be diligent and persistent. Have a list of polite ways to tell people that you are unavailable for this time, and learn how to deflect questions to others who may have the answer. I would definitely recommend good, noise cancelling headphones. Avoid listening to music you like, and know the lyrics to. Find a random station that plays lyricless, low-tempo music. Your brain will eventually begin to associate that music with focus.
Contradictory to its title, the article points out that in an appropriately engineered environment -- which in social or monetary terms might be prohibitively expensive, but might not -- time-blocking is unnecessary, and a to-do list is sufficient.
Any recommendations for a good paper day planner / notebook?<p><pre><code> Hobonichi Techos - too maximalist imho
Writepads - Pocket Ledger excellent for short term plans/notes
Eberhardt Press - A5/A6 1cm grid spiral bound, usually out of stock/low volume
Daiso / Muji - sprial grids here are great, and very inexpensive
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Personally, I've found grids and dot grids with a spiral bound and/or removable perforated pages tend to reduce clutter and provide the most utility for creating a custom day planner.<p>I'm also experimenting with scheduling apps, and open to any recommendations.