The Time-Block Planner: A Daily Method for Deep Work in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

From the bestselling author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism comes a daily planner that deploys the power of time blocking to help you focus on what's important in an increasingly distracted world.

Time blocking is a time management method long used by some of the world's most effective people, from Elon Musk to Bill Gates, and promoted by some of the smartest thinkers in productivity, from Peter Drucker to Benjamin Franklin. Its core idea is that a task list is not enough to make the most of your limited time. You should instead partition your working hours into blocks assigned to specific activities. In doing so, you can more easily protect hours for deep work, while batching shallow tasks into efficient sprints. The clarity of these blocks also encourages you to focus intensely on one thing at a time, resisting the distracting allure of inboxes, social media, and idle web surfing.

For fifteen years, author Cal Newport has been extolling the benefits of time blocking. Now for the first time, this system has been captured in a daily planner that makes it easy for anyone to implement these ideas in their own professional life.

The Time-Block Planner opens with an introduction from Newport to guide you through the basics of effective time blocking. Ninety days' worth of time-blocking pages follow, each divided into a grid that simplifies both building daily schedules and easily updating them as circumstances change. Weekly planning pages supplement the daily planning pages, each including a big idea about productivity from Newport, inspiring you to think deeply about the week ahead. A "shutdown" box sits at the top of each page so you can physically and psychologically end your workday with a check of the box--a ritual widely employed by many of Newport's longtime readers.

You already know what work really matters. The Time-Block Planner will help you push aside distractions and other peoples' demands for your time, and focus on accomplishing more of these deep efforts than you ever thought possible.

Genres: Productivity, Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Development, Business, How To, Management

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2020

About the author

Cal Newport is Provost’s Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, and the author of seven books. His ideas and writing are frequently featured in major publications and on TV and radio.

From his website: "I write about the intersection of digital technology and culture. I’m particularly interested in our struggle to deploy these tools in ways that support instead of subvert the things we care about in both our personal and professional lives."

Reviews

[Mariana Kaiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review, including a walk-through: https://youtu.be/RM4aEHBO_ao

I have been using the time blocking method for a few months in a normal paper notebook but as I am a fan of Cal Newport, I decided to get his planner. The planner has a short introduction that is helpful if you are new to the method, if you are listening to Cal's podcast (I highly recommend it!), you won't learn anything new.

The planner part is good, simple and easy to follow, it helps you to get things done. If you are into fancy journals and planning your day is half an artistic endeavour, this planner is not for you. If you want to get things done, stay focused on what is ahead of you, get this planner.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the format of this planner but the book itself is shitty. It needs to lay flat, the paper could be better, and the size is wrong. Cal needs to look at the design of the Standard Issue Notebook 03, or the Lechturrum notebooks. I'd gladly pay more for a better notebook!
https://designworksink.com/products/5...
https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/muted-c...

[Isabelle Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm new to time-blocking and have found Cal's Time-Block Planner to be transformational in my day-to-day workload organisation.
The book offers 20 pages of time-blocking theory and preamble, followed by space for 13 weeks of daily planning. I've really enjoyed having it as a dedicated space for my thoughts, tasks and ideas. However it is quite expensive and I'm yet to decide how I will move forward with my own time-blocking practice.

If you want to get more done and often feel overwhelmed with to-do lists scattered all over the place, this is the planner that will help you reclaim your schedule.

[John Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really a book, has a few pages of instruction but this is a 4 month weekly/daily empty planner/calendar. I believe in the time-block time, management system but I expected a bit more method for the price$$$.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lees- en werkboek ineen waarmee je je werkdagen in blokken leert indelen. Ik ben ermee aan de slag gegaan. Het voelt veelbelovend aan.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept

I really enjoy Cal Newport ‘s books on time management. Thus, I had to check out this planner. This review is on the ebook, which obviously is less than ideal for a planner of this sort. It goes without saying that I have no means to review the quality of the actual planner like the cover and the paper.

This planner basically explains how Cal Newport structures his days and weeks. I quite enjoyed learning about the concept. Unfortunately, I work a job where this way of planning my day is simply not possible or realistic. This depressed me because I lose so much time by not implementing Newport’s method. There are still tips which I will use in my day-to-day work life, and I will implement this method for other types of work like writing papers or things of the sort. I think this planner (or better, the method) has the potential to help save a lot of time during the day and get more things done. Thus I’d say, try it and see! And then please report back 😊.

[Viktor Malyshev · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really basic but probably effective system to plan time on a daily and weekly basis. Well, I'm a bit disappointed.
My system is much more profound and actually works much better for me. The only thing I liked about the author's system is that everything is tied to time. This has it's own pros and cons, for example, the need to always adjust the plan. Instead, why not plan a block of a certain type? This is what I do. And of course - the shutdown ritual is really useful.
Anyway, very good for a start, you can then build and improve your system.

[Jennifer Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purchased this tool but have to admit it really doesn’t work for me. I love the concept of time blocking but this journal isn’t as inviting to use as I would have liked. The cover is stiff and plastic feeling and I find it time consuming to block time in here but have no place to take more than a few notes. It requires me to use two journals vs one so have opted to go back to an electronic version for time blocking my day.

[Joséphine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three word review:
An absolute lifesaver.

Longer review:
Implementing Cal Newport's planner is probably the biggest change I made in 2024. I read his Digital Minimalism in February 2023, and it helped me be more mindful of how I spend my time online, but it wasn't enough to actually get me to study productively, which is difficult as an online student.

Confession time (this gets personal, feel free to skip):
When I was studying languages online in 2019-2023, I tended to do almost nothing outside of the two weeks, twice a semester, when we had to write papers. I just read the courses leisurely, attended Zoom sessions, read books vaguely related to my courses, read books and listened to audiobooks to improve my language skills (which, admittedly, worked pretty well, and gave me the perfect excuse to read interesting books).
When I returned to math and CS in the Fall of 2023, with exams only once or twice a year, huge lecture notes + exercise sheets with almost zero teacher-student interaction, it became clear that I couldn't keep going like this and needed to study regularly. The Freedom software worked well on the computer, but there was nothing stopping me from reading a paperback or a kindle ebook all day, putting off studying more and more...

I reluctantly ordered the Time-block Planner in March 2024, thinking that it may be a kill-joy, but perhaps the sort of discipline I lacked. Listen: IT WORKED. Early in the morning, I planned my day (including meals, chores and hobbies), and then I just had to do what was planned. I began making real progress on my courses. And since you're also encouraged to track personal metrics relevant to your life (sports/sleep/...), it helped me regulate these areas as well.

What I love about this system, and use everyday, is the possibility to rearrange the day's plan at any time. Quoting Newport here:
"The goal of time blocking is not to stick to your original schedule no matter what. It's instead to try to always have an intentional plan for what to do with your time. If circumstances upend your schedule, this isn't a failure, it's an expected part of applying this strategy. When you next get a chance, simply fix the schedule for the time that remains in the day so that you remain intentional about where you direct your focus."
This helps ENORMOUSLY. It helps alleviate the guilt when things don't work exactly as they should and gets you back on track with an updated schedule and no remorses.



I have also found that it makes it much easier to start doing things. "Planner says I start studying XYZ at 10am so I guess I'll have to start at 10am". Having things written out like this really takes a lot of the mental burden off your shoulders. The everlasting question of "what do I do now?" is a lot less of a problem.

Dangers of this method:
There are days when you'll feel like throwing the plan out of the window. Time-blocking means that you're always conscious of time, of how much time is left to finish your current task, of how you might have to rearrange your schedule if you can't make it, of the things that you haven't put in the schedule but might still be important. Watching to the clock and trying to work productively might be great for your work, but too much of that is exhausting in the long run. What I have found is that longer blocks are easier: switching activities less often means that you give yourself time to properly get into it and don't have to think about productivity for a while. From experience, trying to fit many activities in short blocks of 30min/1hr is exhausting. 1.5hrs/2hrs is better.

And there are days where time-blocking is simply not advisable. Days with family or friends, sick days, days when nothing seems to work... I need to remember that we are humans and not automatons, not living to-do lists, and some time away from Intentionality and Productivity is needed. Note that Cal Newport recommends not time-blocking on weekends, and on weekdays time-blocking only for work stuff. I'm the freak who included everything else (hobbies, chores, etc.) in it, so of course it gets a little much. I often deviate from The Plan in the evening, and some things are better left to sponteneity anyways (when do you feel like practicing your instrument, replying to a message, etc.)

Cl: I'm on my third time-block planner now, and it has helped a lot. Thanks Cal Newport! (who will never see this because he's anti-social media, so, thanks in spirit)

[Nrlhakimin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a template planner laid out for you to fill in but a book with the tools needed to practice the time blocking system in your daily life for 13 weeks.

Its core idea is that you should instead partition your working hours into blocks assigned to specific activities rather than crossing things off a task list in what feels like a very short 24hours in a day.

Thanks to this book, I did more research to learn more about time-block planner. I began to prepare my bullet journal differently for 2021 (and bought a few cute stuff online for my planner -collateral damage you see 🤣)

[Iryna 0011 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s definitely cool that this book is designed as a daily planner where you can structure your time and organize your day. However, there’s nothing particularly new or insightful here. For someone who has never tried planning before, this could be a useful introduction and a good tool to start with. But if you already have basic planning skills and some experience in organizing your work, this book doesn’t really add much value. Fans of Cal Newport, however, might still enjoy adding this to their collection.

[Hung Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be viewed as a supplementary to the famous Deep Work book.

In this book, the author talks about his implementation of the time-blocking method, which aims to facilitate the amount of deep work during a working day.

I like the time-block method in this book, as it accounts for the uncertanties usually associated with the planning. The book also gives some good example showing how to use this method in practice.

However, the content in this book can be written in a blog.

[Oscar Alfonzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

No es un libro como tal, es una agenda hecha según las recomendaciones de Cal Newport. Son cuatro meses pero no he logrado completarlo todo. Dado que es un libro en donde hay que escribir creo que el formato podría ser mas resistente. Cuesta adaptarse al estilo de planeación pero es un paso necesario para generar productividad y trabajo profundo.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book.

Something I do on all major projects now.

Really helped my productivity and focus on what is priority.

Would highly recommend if you are a knowledge worker.

4.5/5

[Sietze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paar maanden mee gewerkt. Te weinig toegevoegde waarde t.o.v. een ordinaire planner

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really useful planner!

[Ahmad Adel · Rating 1 out of 5]

not as thorough or insightful as I thought
+ I like Digital Planning more

[James Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great planing tool, along with some time-block planner wisdom, insights and reminders. Good gift for anyone familiar with time blocking and the fantastic author and scholar, Cal Newport.

[Jay Zelenkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great planner. Not a book.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t love the over simplified format and the bulky book. I don’t recommend.

Deep work is good read that instead.

[Paolo Tormon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical and concise application of Deep Work

[Željko Filipin · Rating 4 out of 5]

On one hand, it's just a notebook. There's very little text in it. On the other hand, it teaches you some of the essential productivity practices. Not only time blocking but also focus.

[Eleanor Vincent]

Indispensible! A great way to focus and refocus my daily work.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Time Block Planner is for people who want to get stuff done. I am new to this method and already loving it. As someone who likes list, order and checking things off; the time block method is the down to earth approach to marking things off my to-do list.

Thank you Penguin Random House for gifted me a copy to review.