Time Blocking to Master Your Equine Business and Daily Life

Ever notice how time seems to disappear and you're amazed at how much you are able to accomplish when you’re working intently on one thing? You have probably inadvertently benefitted from time blocking.

Time blocking is a productivity method where you schedule specific blocks of time based on tasks, activities, or priorities. It offers numerous benefits, especially for individuals looking to improve focus, organization, and work-life balance. With the new year around the corner, now is the perfect time to think about how you could use a time management process like this to meet and exceed your goals in the coming year.

How it Helps

1. Enhanced Focus 

2. Improved Time Management 

3. Increased Productivity 

4. Reduced Stress and Overwhelm

5. Better Work-Life Balance

6. Accountability and Consistency

7. Flexibility and Adaptability

8. Encourages Reflection and Adjustment

9. Eliminates Decision Fatigue

10. Customizable for Any Lifestyle

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? This time management technique is suitable for anyone juggling multiple roles, like a riding instructor, trainer, or equine small business owner. Even better, as a practice it can integrate with your preferred productivity tools, be that digital tools like Google Calendar or physical planners.

Time blocking works best when paired with clear goals and consistent reviews of your schedule. Over time, it can transform how you approach your tasks, ensuring you work smarter, not harder. Let’s see what that looks like in practice.

Putting It Into Practice

When time blocking, you plan your day by dividing it into focused time blocks, each dedicated to a specific task, project, or activity. Here's how it works:

Identify Your Priorities

List all the tasks or activities you need to complete, including work tasks (eg. horses to train, lessons to give, farm chores to do, and feed store trips), personal errands (eg. getting groceries, going to the hardware store), time with friends and family, personal horse time, downtime (we all need a little bit), etc..

Prioritize these tasks based on importance and urgency (Consider using the Eisenhower Decision Matrix to help you).

Choose a Tool or Planner

Use a digital calendar (e.g., Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal) or a physical planner. Some apps, like Notion or Trello, have specific time-blocking features. I haven’t used the feature in Trello, but I do use Trello to keep track of my tasks and priorities.

Divide Your Day into Blocks

Break your day into chunks of time, each assigned to a specific task or category. You can be as detailed or simple as need be with these time chunks

Here is what a typical day looks like for me (I like to keep my details simple and use my priorities in Trello to determine where I am focusing in each block): 

4:30-6:30am: Equestripreneur

6:30-7:30am: Breakfast, get ready for the day, feed animals

7:30am-9am: Self-Care/Home: Workout and light house chores

9am-12pm: Equestripreneur: meetings, consult with individual clients, and follow-up action items

12pm-12:30pm: Lunch

12:30pm-2:30pm: Equestripreneur

2:30pm-4:30pm: Self-Care/Home: Farm chores, personal horse time, and shower

4:30pm-6pm: Make and Have Dinner

6pm-7:30pm: Family Time

7:30pm-9pm: Equestripreneur

9pm on: Get ready for bed / Sleep

Set blocks for all aspects of your day, including breaks, meals, and relaxation. If you don’t, you’ll run out of time having neglected these important basic needs. 

When I was an instructor, I also learned to block my days of the week by subject. During time set aside for administrative tasks I followed this pattern: 

Monday - Lesson planning (I looked at my schedule for the week, brainstormed what exercises I was going to do with which students, etc. With regard to teaching, I often went with a theme that could be adjusted based on skill level. This kept things creative and fun for students and made things a bit easier for me on the planning side.)

Tuesday - Marketing & Social Media (If I needed to fill in lesson spots I would post on local community pages (max every 1.5-2 months), post open spots throughout the week on my social media page, and share any insights or entertaining posts I had seen throughout the week with my audience, and create/share posts for new services I was developing)

Wednesday - Finances / Accounting (Reconciling billing/invoicing and following up as needed, inputting receipts in my bookkeeping software)

Thursday - Customer outreach (individual or bulk) (Create and send my newsletter, individual messages as needed, and customer follow-ups)

Friday - Catch up on incomplete tasks from the week (a catch-all to complete anything I wasn't able to in my admin time blocks during the week and to begin to prep a bit for the following week)

Assign Tasks to Blocks

Match tasks to appropriate time blocks based on energy levels and deadlines. 

For instance, I am able to most easily focus in the late morning and early afternoon, so I schedule demanding tasks when I feel most alert during that time (my 12:30pm-2:30pm time slot). This is when I get the bulk of my content put together. I reserve low-energy times (like 7:30-9pm) for easier tasks like sorting files, organizing, or planning.

Set Time Limits

Assign realistic time frames to tasks to avoid overloading a single block. I learned, following this process, that I typically underestimate how long things will take me, so I now build in about 50% more time than I expect on projects and tasks. I use a timer to keep me focused and on track during the day, like this one that utilizes the Pomodoro Technique. Knowing that there is a set end time makes focusing on the task at hand a bit easier.

Build in Buffer Time

Include small breaks between tasks or blocks to allow for transition time. Test what works best for you - building this as specific break time or increasing your block time to accomodate these shifts. Allocate time for unexpected interruptions or delays. This is where I have historically struggled the most. I have a bad habit of underestimating how much time I need to complete something and also struggle a bit with focus when switching gears. By building in extra time for how long tasks take me, I have managed to cut down on how often I get pulled off track by transitions that take longer than I expect or interruptions that cause my project or task to take longer. We’re only human and this is just part of life; don't ignore this important part of the process.

Stick to the Plan (but Stay Flexible)

Commit to the task or project assigned for each block and avoid multitasking. Because you have time blocked for your other priorities, you do not need to worry about them when you are working in a time block assigned to a different activity. If priorities change, adjust your schedule rather than abandoning it entirely. I revisit my schedule and make adjustments mid-week, and sometimes even daily if I get a big derailment. It is not uncommon for me to shift priorities, either as needed or due to new commitments I did not foresee. 

Review and Reflect

At the end of the day or week, evaluate your schedule.

• Did you accomplish your goals?

• Were the time blocks too short or too long?

• Were there distractions or inefficiencies?

  
  

Use these insights to refine your approach. Take this feedback into the next week and adjust accordingly. Each week you will learn more about yourself and your working style and get better at predicting your time and task needs. 

Pro Tips:

Batch Similar Tasks: Group similar tasks (e.g., responding to emails or making calls) into one block to maintain focus, like my 9am-12pm time block above.

Time Block Recurring Tasks: Set weekly blocks for regular activities like workouts, meetings, or riding lessons. I do this in my calendar app and it enables me to build out the rest of my week around those commitments, leaving lots of room for flexibility.

Color-Code Your Calendar: Use colors to differentiate work, personal tasks, and breaks for quick reference. I do this within my calendar so I can take a quick look at how I’m spending my time. My categories are: Work (Green), Self-Care (Yellow), Pets (Purple), Home & Chores (Blue), With Friends (Orange), and With my Family (Red). This is particularly helpful when I need to balance out where I am spending my time overall. For example, if I'm feeling like I'm not getting enough time with family I can quickly look at where I may be spending too much time (with friends, usually - I now limit myself to 1-2 one-on-one friend activities a week, so don't take offense if you're a friend and I book you out to visit in a month. I value that one-on-one time and am just being mindful of how much time I spend there overall compared to things like work and family - time is finite, after all). Feel free to steal my categories above or make your own.

With practice, time blocking helps you work more intentionally and achieve a balanced, productive day, week, month, and year. You will be amazed at what you can actually accomplish. Share how you are currently using, or plan to use, it in your life below!

Need help sorting through your tasks, activities, and to-do list? Set up a call with me and we'll walk through your unique circumstances.

Hugs and Happy Riding (let's ensure that's scheduled in there, too)!

Kristin

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If you have questions, want help with your business operations, or want to learn more about the Equestripreneur Community, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

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Learn more about author Kristin Bowers.

Blog posts from Equestripreneur are not meant to replace individual professional advice, which will best inform personal circumstances.