'This hack gets a bad rap, but it always gets me out of work 2 hours early.'

If you're anything like me, you've experienced that moment at 5pm when you've been "busy" all day but have somehow accomplished... nothing? (Don't tell my manager). The day has slipped by, and you're staring down the barrel of at least two more hours of work to get the bare minimum done.

But what if I told you there's a productivity trick that could actually give you those two hours back? And no, it's not some ridiculous 4am morning Ashton Hall-esque routine or fancy app that costs $25 a month.

It's time blocking. And before you roll your eyes and click away— hear me out.

Time blocking is basically the act of scheduling specific tasks into specific time slots in your calendar. Instead of having a to-do list that says "start presentation, answer emails, prepare for meeting," you actually assign each of those tasks to a specific time of day.

"But Em, I already have a to-do list," I hear you saying from the depths of your colour-coded Notion board.

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Yes, and how's that working out for you? Do you frequently find yourself staying late or feeling overwhelmed? Or are you spending the majority of your day writing out your list and then… not doing any of your tasks? (Guilty).

Most of us waste absurd amounts of time context-switching. According to productivity experts, it can take up to 23 minutes to fully transition from one task to another. So if you're bouncing between your inbox, Slack, and that presentation all day, you're essentially flushing hours down the toilet.

When I first heard about time blocking, I immediately put it in the "sounds great but not for me" category. I'm not exactly what you'd call a productivity queen — I once spent 45 minutes choosing a font for a document that nobody but me would ever see. But after several failed attempts, I learnt a few key things that made it stick.

Know your prime time.

The first mistake I made with time blocking was not recognising when my brain actually works best. I'd schedule very important and deep work tasks for 3pm when my brain is daydreaming about what I'm having for dinner.

Ask yourself: When do you procrastinate the hardest? When do tasks feel effortless?

I'm a morning person, so I now block my mornings for focused work and stack all my meetings in the afternoon.

Block in real time.

One of the most powerful shifts happened when I stopped just adding things to my to-do list. Now when someone asks me to execute a presentation in the next few days, I immediately open my calendar and block out three 45-minute chunks to prepare— one for research, one for creating the presentation, and one for practice.

This does two things: it forces me to estimate how long tasks actually take (spoiler: always longer than you think), and it ensures I have enough time allocated before the deadline.

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Group similar tasks together.

Remember that 23-minute brain adjustment period? You can hack this by grouping similar tasks together. I have a "research block," an "email/admin block," and a "creative work block."

This saves me from that terrible feeling of finally getting into a flow state with writing, only to have to drag myself away for a random 30-minute meeting before trying to get back into it later on.

Protect your blocks fiercely (but don't lose your chill).

The biggest mistake people make with time blocking is treating it as a perfect, rigid system that can never be changed. Life happens. Meetings run late. You spiral about your ex mid-task (I'm aware this is probably only specific to my situation). The key is structure with some room to dance.

I have specific times that are non-negotiable (like researching for a podcast recording), but I allow myself to shift things around when necessary. The goal isn't to become a robot— it's to be intentional with your time rather than reactive.

Create a "task pebbles" block.

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This is my absolute favourite time-blocking hack that I learnt from my Biz co-host Soph Hirst.

Twice a week, I schedule a 30-minute "task pebbles" block. Throughout the week, as small tasks pop up that don't warrant their own time block, I drop them into the description of this calendar event.

These are the 5-10 minute tasks that individually aren't a big deal, but collectively, can eat up hours of your day if you do them randomly. Having a designated time to knock them all out at once is game-changing.

Plan to plan.

I know this sounds meta (and extremely boring), but you need a block to plan your blocks. I have a 15-minute slot every Friday where I roughly map out the following week. Yes, sometimes I skip it for a Friday drink (I'm only human).

Here's the truth: time blocking won't magically make you love tasks you hate. If reading or going to the gym isn't something you genuinely want to do, simply scheduling it won't make it happen. But what time blocking will do is give you clarity about where your time is actually going and help you focus on what matters.

The most surprising thing I discovered when I started time blocking properly is that I actually have much more time in my day than I originally thought— I just wasn't using it intentionally.

And that, my friends, is how you can legitimately finish work two hours earlier (don't worry, I won't tell anyone).

If you want more from Emily Vernem, you can follow her on Instagram @emilyvernem.

Feature image: Canva.