Workdue
Planning guide

How to plan your week with time blocks

Turn a long task list into a realistic week. Give tasks a time and duration, then drag to rebalance.

Aditya
Aditya, Founder of Workdue
· 7 min read

Key takeaways

  • A task list says what to do. A time block says when you will do it.
  • Give important tasks a due time and a realistic duration.
  • Use the Due row for deadlines that do not need a fixed time.
  • Drag blocks to rebalance the week whenever plans change.

Why time blocking works

A long task list hides a simple problem: there are more tasks than hours. Time blocking makes that visible. When every important task has a place on the calendar, you can see on Monday morning whether the week actually fits.

Workdue's Week view was built around this idea. It shows your tasks as blocks on a calendar instead of rows in a list.

Understanding the Week view

Press 1 or click Week. The view has four parts:

  • Day columns from Monday to Sunday, with today highlighted.
  • The Due row at the top. Tasks with a due date but no time live here.
  • Time blocks for tasks with a due time. The height matches the duration.
  • The Up next panel on the right, with done this week, overdue tasks and what is coming next.

Use the arrows to move between weeks and Today to jump back. Press 2 for the Day view when you want to focus on just one day, which also works well on a phone.

Plan Monday in 15 minutes

  1. Start with fixed commitments. Add client calls and meetings with their exact time.
  2. Add deadlines to the Due row. Reports, submissions and anything due on a date.
  3. Block deep work. For each deadline, add a work block a day or two before it. Click an empty slot to create it at that time, then set a duration of 90 minutes or 2 hours.
  4. Leave gaps. Keep at least an hour a day empty for client requests that will always appear.
  5. Check the panel. If anything shows as overdue, give it a real new slot now.

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Choose realistic durations

Open a task to set its Duration, from 15 minutes to 4 hours. Most people underestimate. A useful rule is to add half again to your first guess. If a blog brief feels like an hour, block 90 minutes.

Overlapping blocks sit side by side, so you will immediately notice when two things compete for the same time.

Drag to reschedule

Plans change. When they do, drag a block to a new time or day. It snaps to 15 minute steps. Drop a block onto the Due row to keep the date but remove the time. In the Month view you can drag tasks between days too.

Rescheduling is logged in the task activity, so you can see later how often something moved. A task that moves three times is usually a task that needs breaking into subtasks.

Handle overdue work honestly

A task turns red when its date or time has passed and it is not done. The Up next panel lists every overdue task. Do not let them pile up. For each one, decide: do it now, give it a new slot, or delete it.

Pair this with reminders and notifications so you hear about deadlines before they turn red.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Due row and a time block?

The Due row holds tasks that are due on a day without a specific time. Time blocks are tasks with a due time and a duration.

Can I change how long a task takes?

Yes. Open the task and choose a Duration between 15 minutes and 4 hours. The block resizes in the Week and Day views.

Does the Week view work on mobile?

Yes. On a phone the Day view is easiest to read. Press the Day tab to focus on one day.

How do I create a task at a specific time?

Click any empty slot in the Week or Day view. Workdue creates a task at that time, rounded to the nearest 15 minutes.

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