Does it ever feel like you’re constantly getting saddled with unplanned, unwanted work?
You know the ones. Those urgent, last-minute requests that pop up out of nowhere and always seem to find you.
One minute, you’re cruising through your workday. Then…
“Hey, can you help me with this real quick?”
“This is urgent – can I get your eyes on it ASAP?” 👀
“Only you can fix this!” 🫵
And just like that, your neatly planned week goes poof.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be this way.
The BEST way to prevent this is by incorporating unscheduled time into your schedule. It’ll help you handle these surprises as they come without throwing your whole week off balance.
Ready to learn why it’s crucial and how you can make it work for you? Let’s go.
Why you need to have unscheduled time in your calendar
The best way to deal with that unplanned, unwanted work (UUW for short) is by incorporating “Flex Time” – deliberately unscheduled time – into your calendar.
I know scheduling unscheduled time blocks sounds counterintuitive, but trust me. It’s the most practical application of “Expect the unexpected.”
Think of it this way.
You can’t know ahead of time what kind of UUW you’ll encounter this week, much less when it’ll show up or how many minutes you’ll have to spend on it (it wouldn’t be unplanned if you could).
But you know it’ll be more than zero, right?
That’s why setting aside unscheduled time is so important, even if you have the world’s most carefully planned calendar.
Adding unscheduled time into your calendar also helps manage:
- Unpredictability: Unscheduled time helps you manage UUW without derailing your entire schedule. You’ll be able to get to them promptly without having to shift priorities.
- Stress and overwhelm: Just knowing you’ve got time for UUW creates a sense of security and helps ease the anxiety that usually comes with last-minute tasks. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you’ll feel prepared and in control.
- Work-life balance: You won’t always use your unscheduled time, and that’s okay! Use it for you – for things like self-care, personal tasks, or just relaxing.
Plus, you might improve your creativity and innovativeness.
Just knowing that that time is there will keep you efficient and productive without sacrificing your well-being, even when it feels like your UUW is piling up.
And isn’t that what it’s all about?
You can hear more about what unscheduled time is in this quick video:
Now that you know the importance of unscheduled time, you might be wondering how much you actually need. Let’s talk about it.
How much unscheduled time do you need?
As you think about how much unscheduled time you need, remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
It all depends on your productivity habits and workflow, as well as the unpredictability of your life.
But a good rule of thumb is to dedicate around 12-15% of your work week to unscheduled time.
That’s about four or five hours a week (or an hour per day) if you work a 40-hour week.
I’ll be honest. An hour of unscheduled time a day probably won’t be enough to cover all of your UUW.
But even a little bit makes a big difference, especially if you don’t have any unscheduled time in your calendar right now.
Don’t be afraid to experiment to figure out what works best for you.
In fact, you’ll probably have to try a few times to get it just right, so don’t be afraid to adjust your approach as needed.
For example, if you find that you constantly run out of unscheduled time, you might be underestimating how long tasks take.
Or, if you’re not using your Flex Time early in the week but keep running out by the end of the week, try shifting it a day or two later.
You might be looking at your calendar thinking, “But I don’t have time for unscheduled time – my schedule sucks!”
I promise you do. It’s all about how you fit it in.
I’ll show you how to do it in the next section, so keep reading.
How to schedule in unscheduled time
Just like figuring out how much unscheduled time you need, knowing how to schedule it depends on what you need.
For example, I have blocks dedicated to unscheduled time every Tuesday and Thursday and scattered throughout Friday.
But that’s what works for me.
Some Lifehack Tribe members like to dedicate a full day to unscheduled time, while others prefer to have some every day.
Pro tip: UUW tends to pop up at the same time each week, so look for any patterns in your work days.
For instance, most people don’t pre-plan their weeks.
Because of it, they spend Monday and Tuesday getting ready for the week – and end up with a massive pile of UUW by Wednesday.
If that sounds like you, I’d recommend planning accordingly by scheduling it later in the day and/or week.
Our client Randy has really cracked the code of unscheduled time.
He always has UUW showing up on his desk during his deep work hours. But because he’s set aside unscheduled time at the end of every day, he doesn’t panic.
Instead, he can continue focusing on the task at hand because he knows he has a block of unscheduled time at 4 o’clock.
That’s another benefit of unscheduled time: it protects the hours you’re most productive (your peak hours).
For instance, if you’re most productive in the morning, you’d schedule your unscheduled time for the afternoons.
That way, you’ll be as focused and productive as possible at the start of the day without getting distracted by UUW.
When you’re just starting to add unscheduled time to your calendar, start small! Set aside an hour-long block of unscheduled time each day after 2 p.m. and just see how it goes.
What’s next?
Here’s the thing about unscheduled time: You’ll never have enough of it, even if you got rid of everything else on your calendar!
So use it wisely.
Speaking of…
Having a calendar that’s organized and well thought out is crucial to your productivity and success.
And it all starts with planning your week the right way. That’s why we created our Winning the Week Method.
Thousands of people worldwide use it to master their schedules, harness the power of unscheduled time, and get more done – and you can, too.
Get our Winning the Week worksheet for FREE here:
