If the theory of taking back your time by booking out your diary for yourself sounds nearly too good to be true, the reality is even better. So how do you do it?

“Put clock-blocking into practice by scheduling recurring blocks of time for regular responsibilities, then review your priorities at the beginning of each week or day and assign time blocks to specific tasks,” Elyssa Desai, a mindset expert and coach, tells Stylist. “To reduce stress and overwhelm, account for the extra time needed for each task, block out breaks throughout your day and book dedicated time for unexpected tasks,” she recommends.

Career change specialist and business owner Rachel Grace Elliott is a big believer in clock-blocking to help manage her ADHD at work. “I put the most important tasks at the start of my day when I have the most energy and highlight them in red so that I know they cannot be moved,” she tells Stylist. “At the end of every day, I review to see what hasn’t been done. If a certain task keeps getting pushed to the next day, it’s either because it’s not that important or I have a particular avoidance around it – that’s when I make it my first priority for the next day.”

How the clock-blocking trend could help you tackle meeting overwhelm at work