It’s always a challenge to complete all the jobs on our daily to-do lists, especially with constant distractions and interruptions from the telephone, e-mail and colleagues. One way to ensure you achieve the goals you set for the day and increase your productivity is to use a technique called “time-blocking.”

Time-blocking is the strategy that puts time-management ideas into action. Here’s how it works:

If you have a particular task that needs your attention, you block off a period of time on your calendar — as little or as much as you think you will need — and use that time to focus on that task without interruption.

The key is to treat that time like an appointment with yourself, and keep that appointment as you would any important commitment.

“Time-blocking enables advi-sors to gain control of their schedules,” says Dan Richards, president of Toronto-based Strategic Imperatives Ltd. He recommends taking a step back at the beginning of each week to decide upon your high priorities — not necessarily the things that are just critical in the short term, but those that are also important in the long term — and ensure that you set aside time for dealing with those priorities.

One major advantage of time-blocking is that it allows you to plan ahead, then concentrate solely on a certain task without interruption, says Allison Merrow, a coach and consultant with Advisor Pathways Inc. in Toronto: “It helps you to get the little distractions out of the way.”

Here are six tips to help you become more efficient through time-blocking:

> Set Priorities And Block Off Time To Accomplish Them. For example, if developing referral relationships with accountants is a priority for your practice but one you have trouble getting around to, then schedule a specific morning every week for that purpose.

You might set aside Friday mornings from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to concentrate on contacting accountants. Says Richards: “Use the time to focus exclusively on that activity.”

> Block Off 30 Minutes At The Beginning Of Each Week. Use this time to plan the week ahead or to go over your schedule. “Treat this event as the most important appointment of the day,” Richards says. “That way, you will be sure you do it.”

> Get Out Of The Office. Once or twice a month, take a day away from the office environment to focus on planning for your business. Then, every week or two, block off time to get the most important tasks done. “It’s a very proactive approach,” Merrow says, “and something [that] many successful advisors do.”

> Block Time In One- Or Two-Hour Segments. If you block by the hour, Merrow suggests, use 45 minutes to concentrate on the task, then take a 15-minute break at the end of the hour to refocus for the next task.

If your goal is to call clients to reassure them during a period of market volatility, focus only on that task for 45 minutes, then use the remaining 15 minutes to answer e-mails, return phone calls or take a short break.

> Tell The Rest Of Your Team. When you have blocked time for a specific task, let your team know what you are doing. That way, if something comes up, they will know not to interrupt you if it can wait.

> Block Personal Time. Set aside time to recharge your batteries and to get away from work — to keep you from becoming overwhelmed. That includes time for exercise, relaxation and family.

One effective way to make time-blocking work as a strategy is to treat the time you’ve blocked as if it were an appointment with a top client.

“If you had an appointment with your most important client, would you cancel it?” Richards asks. “Only if an extreme situation arose.” IE