Productivity Hack: Color Coding Time Blocks in Google Calendar

I found this hack on TikTok late last year, and ever since I implemented it, I feel infinitely more in control of my days. Now let's be real, my calendar doesn't always look like this. But when I take the time to set this up and stick with it, my productivity is through the roof. 

I also love implementing this when I've been in a funk or if I'm just getting back from vacation. It really just sets the tone and provides clarity of what I need to get done and when.

So here's how I do it!

You'll start out by breaking down areas of your life into categories. These should be pretty general to start, and you may find yourself adjusting these and adding more as you start to learn how you like to organize your life. But to give you an idea of how I do it, my categories are the following:

Birthdays - I don't time block these, but I just like to have a separate calendar and color code for birthdays.
Driving/Errands - I've found it super helpful to block out the time it takes to get to and from places so I'm not just looking at the time of an appointment on my calendar. Something about seeing the time you actually need to be ready and out the door and the amount of time it will take to get somewhere really keeps things clear in my mind.
Everyday - this time block is specifically for things like my morning routine, shower, getting ready, etc.
Health/Self Care - doctor's appointments, hair and nails, massages, etc.
Locali - anything work related.
Organization/Life - this category is for things like doing laundry, cleaning, and other life maintenance things and chores. Which includes time blocking and mapping out my calendar.
Pets/Animals - vet appointments, walks, grooming, etc.
Social/Family - any time blocked out that is for social time.
Tentative - I love blocking out time for things that I haven't fully committed to yet. It helps me to see how my week or month is unfolding and I can plan around something, but I know I have the opportunity to change it if it's color coded in grey. 
Yoga - This category was when I was teaching yoga and I would need to block off time for not only the classes I taught, but the prep time needed throughout the week such as making playlists, making cool eucalyptus towels, and class planning.

Each of these calendars or life categories has a separate color that I've come to learn. When I'm planning out my days and weeks and the blocks start to come together, I'm able to see and know at a glance what I have coming up.

To add in a time block, just click on the day that you need to add to, and where it says add title, you can choose to title it whatever the task is. For me, sometimes the task is the category or sometimes it's a little more specific. You can choose the date and time period you'd like that time block to last for, and then you can choose the calendar you want it to fall under, which is the color you want it to display.

For example, if I'm blocking off time to work all day, I'll probably title the general time block "Sun Drifters." Then I'll choose the calendar "Locali" in the drop down and it will automatically turn that block of time yellow/gold on my calendar.

You'll see below I have two time blocks in that work category/color. I have time blocked for Content in the morning (with tasks already listed within that), and another section in the afternoon blocked for Sun Drifters. Both fall under the work category, but I've got separate time blocks for different work things. Helpful, right?

Once you've got your time blocks in place, you can take it a step further by utilizing Google's Tasks feature to incorporate various tasks within a time block. For example, I'll break down all the tasks I need to get done if I'm making Sun Drifters, and drag them into that time block so I can see step by step, each task for that time period.