Timeblocking/ Creating time

[Jonathan Lubenko]

Hello everyone

I'm posting today looking for some advice. I have been trying to make better use of dividing my day into time blocks, this is recommended in alot of books I've read and is proven to be a very effective method of raising productivity. My problem is with my unpredictable work schedule which makes set time blocks very difficult to follow. I work in construction and I go to different jobs almost every single day, so depending on how far away the job site is and what time I need to be there, I wake up as early as 3:30 AM and get home as late as 9 PM. With such a random schedule and never really knowing when I'm going to get off work in the evening, is it even possible to use time blocking as an effective form of time management? Does anyone know of a time management method that is more suitable for this kind of schedule? Any other tips or time management advice would be awesome

I would really appreciate any advice on this.

Thanks for your time,

Jonny

[Bill Kramer]

Time management is crucial for a contractor. Keep a notepad with you at all times, write EVERYTHING down. I call this my bible. Everything I do is documented each day. When I get home, I review what I got done, what still needs done, etc...

I do maintenance service calls as well which can be quite chaotic on a schedule. But I make a daily home depot run to alleviate that.

My day starts at 7 a.m. with the home depot run. Then off to service calls from the day before. Then off to any major remodel I have going on. As service calls come in, I get them diagnosed at 4 p.m. ish and make a list for tomorrow hd run. 99% of all service calls can wait a day. I carry plumbing fittings to solve the problem until I can get back the next day. 

Any discussions with new customers, quotes, etc all goes in my bible. Then I review at end of day, and again in the morning I plan my route.

Time management works great, but you have to slow down and take a step back for it to happen.