Define your time blocks to find balance and make time for your project
Hi friends 👋!
A little while ago, I read this post on the difficulty of maintaining balance as a part-time indie hacker. I finally had some time to reflect on balance (isn’t that ironic :D) and I wanted to share my own techniques.
Disclaimer: I am in no means an expert, but a person who is just experimenting to find what works best for her. Hopefully, this post will inspire you to do the same.
As I’m getting further and further down my journey with Sidekick (my productivity app) and my full time job (product designer), I find it increasingly tough to maintain balance.
Questions that creep into my head are:
How do I make sure Sidekick is getting the time it deserves?
Am I committing enough to my life’s dream?
What if I’m not performing at my full time job?
When do I take care of myself?For all my side hustlers out there or just in general, busy people with passionate goals, can you relate?
After lots of experimentation, I found 2 things really empowered me to feel like I can have it all. This is 1: time blocking and 2: the flow state. Let’s review!
What is time blocking?
Time blocking is a productivity technique that asks you to divide your day into blocks. You can chunk your time into small blocks (ex. 8:30–8:45am) or big blocks (ex. 8:30–3:30pm).
Everyone is different and it really comes down to what works for you. Because I like some extra flexibility and want to reduce my switching costs, I chunk my time into big blocks.
What is a flow state?
A flow state is a mental state in which you are fully immersed and involved in an activity. This means no distractions, interruptions, or changes in engagement — just a constant flow of maximum focus.
If you’ve watched Avatar, I think of the flow state as the avatar state. In the avatar state, Aang fully harnesses his powers and is unstoppable against any obstacle.
How do I apply this to maintain balance?
To utilize this power combo, here are 4 steps:
- Identify your optimal deep work time and length for your project.
This will take some experimentation and reflection. As a quick suggestion, I would start with a classic pomodoro session (25 minute work, 5 minute break). After each session, reflect. Did I make good progress? Did I feel a dip in focus/performance?
2. Identify your most important priorities. These will become your blocks.
3. Structure your day to make room for your priorities.
4. Continuously reflect and adjust.
To illustrate this a little better, let me walk through this with my own situation.
1. Identify your optimal deep work time and length.
For me, my optimal deep work time is 3 hours with a 5 minute break at every hour.
2. Identify your most important priorities.
This is Sidekick (my app), my full time job, and my me time (fitness, cooking, self care).
3. Structure your day to make room for your priorities.
Typically, I wake up and do a quick morning routine.
Then, I head to block #1: my 3 hour deep work session for Sidekick.
Then, I head to block #2: my 9–5 job.
As soon as my job ends, it’s block #3: my me time.
4. Continuously reflect and adjust.
On a monthly basis, I make sure to check in on myself. The biggest questions I ask myself are:
Am I burnt out?
Am I making progress on my project?
Am I still enjoying my everyday?
Incorporating this power combo of time blocking and the flow state really helped me make room for everything I want to prioritize. It makes me feel at the end of the day, I earned my sleep and I made time for me and my dreams.
In my opinion, productivity is not a one size fits all model. Everyone’s different. If you’re struggling to maintain balance as a part time indie hacker, I suggest reflecting on if this concept is something you’d be open to exploring and then go forth!
👇 Share it in the comments!
What do you think? Are you going to try it?
What’s your deepest passion? Are you making time for it?
Do you have any tips of your own?
Interested in Sidekick? Visit our website to learn more. Sidekick is currently in Public Beta. We’re always building our community and looking for new people like yourself to try it out — so try it out! We hope to see you on 😎
