In our fast-paced life, where dispersion, distractions, and multitasking reign, we increasingly need more resources to help us get more out of each day and our efforts. I want to talk to you about a technique I have been using for many years that works well for me. I call it “Compartmentalizing Tasks.”
What is Compartmentalizing Tasks?
Compartmentalize means defining specific moments and times for certain tasks or activities you know you have to do or have decided to do. It consists of delimiting or creating time bands, which we will call «compartments» in which you will do (and repeat) those tasks, routines, or activities.
This resource, which, as you can see, does not involve any difficulty, in return, offers a series of powerful benefits… every day:
Benefits of Compartmentalizing Your Activities
- Improves Concentration and Reduces Multitasking
By allocating specific blocks of time to each task, we reduce the temptation to jump from one activity to another. This not only improves our concentration but also increases the efficiency and quality of the work performed.
- Compartmentalizing activities helps delimit and protect them, avoiding distractions and wasting time.
- Encourage Monotasking instead of multitasking, which has permeated so much into our way of living and working, and which does so much damage.
Imagine that you have decided to resume the daily habit of reading, and you are in the “read for a while” compartment. Suddenly, you feel the temptation to pick up your phone and start snooping around. You say to yourself: “Stay still, that doesn’t matter now. You’ll look at it when you’re done. So, you continue focusing on reading until you complete that compartment.
- Promotes Regularity and Discipline
Think about that person who struggles to maintain a routine, for example, of consistent writing (for their personal journal, blog, or book). By compartmentalizing, you write every day from 7 to 8 in the morning. This helps the idea to settle in your mind that this is and will be the “time to write”, which promotes a writing discipline beginning to build the desired habit.
Compartmentalizing is a great resource for creating habits. Instead of betting everything on willpower or supposed discipline, you are focusing on the method, the ritual. This encourages regularity, repetition, and discipline, which is especially helpful for those who struggle with consistency and want to build habits.
«Compartmentalizing is not just organizing time; it is taking control of your day and turning your intentions into concrete actions. It is the art of making every moment count.
- Facilitates Management and Organization
Compartmentalizing helps us organize our day better. Distributing tasks throughout the day or week gives us a clear vision of what needs to be done and when.
- To set a specific time for certain tasks, make sure that you will be able to do them instead of betting everything on “let’s see if I find a space” or “let’s see if I remember.”
- Balance work better throughout the day or week, ensuring you can better distribute those things you know you must do.
When creating compartments, you follow a maxim I have always practiced: There is a time for every task and a task for every moment. Compartments based on routine or activity make you ask yourself: “What is the best time or situation to do this?” That helps you choose better, evaluating the rest of the things you must do. This approach gives you a clear and organized vision of your week, ensuring that all areas receive attention.
- Allows Flexibility Against Unforeseen Events
Despite the structure it offers, this technique gives us the flexibility to adapt to changes and unforeseen events. We can readjust our plans more effectively by being clear about which tasks are priorities.
Imagine a person who works from home and must also care for his or her family. By compartmentalizing, you block out certain hours for work and others for family activities. When something unexpected happens, such as an unexpected doctor’s appointment, it can easily reset your schedule without sacrificing time dedicated to work or family, thanks to this subdivision of the day’s clarity.
How to Start Compartmentalizing Your Routines
- Identify the tasks and activities that require compartmentalization. Think about those that are recurring and essential for your productivity.
- Assign specific periods (in the day or week) for each activity in your agenda. Be realistic with the time each task requires.
- During these blocks, focus only on the task you have decided on and… park the rest. And if you feel tempted to start something else or watch something, you can repeat a golden phrase that I often say: “That doesn’t matter now.”
- Starts soft with two or three tasks/activities a week. Then, if you see that this technique helps you, add it until you build a consistent daily and weekly routine.
- Evaluate and adjust. At the end of the week, review how each compartment has worked and make any necessary adjustments. It is normal.
We cannot, of course, compartmentalize our entire lives. People do not function like trains, subject to an inflexible schedule. In real life, there are unforeseen events, emergencies, and imbalances. However, creating compartments for certain routines or specific activities will boost your management at work and in the personal or family sphere.