As a remote professional, I’ve realized my most valuable currency isn’t actually money. It’s focused time.
When the kids are home, my brain is permanently split in two. One half is trying to solve a project bottleneck while the other is subconsciously listening for a “Mommy!” from the next room. It’s exhausting. That’s why the moment I drop them off at school at 7:00 AM, the clock starts. I have a precious window to be 100% Sherwin the Professional, and I’ve learned the hard way not to waste it just reacting to emails.
I’ve started using a method called the 30-30-30 rule to keep me on track, but the real magic is in how I protect the different phases of my day, especially with a split schedule.
The Fortress of Deep Work
The hours between 7:30 AM and my first pickup at noon are sacred. My brain is sharpest right after that morning school run, so I treat those hours like a fortress. This is when I tackle the “frogs,” those big, intimidating strategy projects or writing tasks that need my full heart.
During this block, I am essentially a ghost. My notifications are muted, my phone is in the other room, and my inbox stays closed. I finally realized that if I start my day answering everyone else’s “urgent” requests, I’ll never actually get to my own “important” goals before that 12:00 PM alarm goes off.
Syncing the Meetings and the Midday Shift
With one child finished at noon and another at early in the afternoon, the rest of my day is all about the “sweet spot.” As much as I can, I batch my meetings into the block after that first pickup. Since I’m usually coordinating with teams across Southeast Asia, I’m always hunting for the time zone gap where we can all be online at once.
Grouping these calls together saves me from the context switching that used to drain my energy. It’s so much easier to stay in meeting mode for a solid block than to have 15 minute calls scattered throughout the day, constantly breaking my focus just as I’m getting into a groove.
The Clean Break
The final sprint from the time we are back home from school is when I shift into what I call my Admin Hour. This is when I clear the inbox, schedule my posts, and finalize the logistics for the next project.
This block of hours is my closing ceremony. It allows me to shut my laptop with a genuine sense of completion for the day.
At this stage of my life, I’ve realized I just don’t have the patience for busywork. I want my work to be impactful so that my time with my family can be intentional.
Time blocking isn’t about being a robot or living by a rigid timer. It’s about building a fence around the things that matter. It’s what allows me to work hard for a project and still be the person who is 100% present when I’m sitting at the dinner table that night.
sherwinelaine.blog 