We’ve been thinking about days all wrong.
Most of us view our waking hours as a single entity, a day, that either goes well or poorly.
For me, one overlong breakfast meeting would cascade into a missed workout, which would turn into skipped work and takeout for dinner instead of cooking. By evening, I’d surrender completely, promising to restart fresh the next day.
Tomorrow became my favorite day of the week.
This black-and-white thinking ended when I read Gretchen Rubin’s suggestion to divide my days into four equal parts. She suggested viewing each day not as one 16-hour block but as four separate chunks. If morning goes poorly, afternoon remains untouched, ready for success.
The secret to better days isn’t better planning—it’s better recoveries.
The four quarters technique
Split your day into four blocks to stay productive when plans fall apart
Do you give up on your entire day after a morning meeting runs long or an unexpected call throws off your schedule? Many of us write off the whole day when our plans get derailed, telling ourselves, “I’ll start fresh tomorrow.”
The Four Quarters Technique stops this all-or-nothing thinking by breaking your day into manageable chunks with built-in reset points.
What is the four quarters technique?
Bestselling author Gretchen Rubin created this method based on a simple idea: split your waking hours into four equal segments. As she explains in her book Better Than Before:
“Instead of feeling you’ve blown the day and thinking, ‘I’ll get back on track tomorrow,’ try thinking of each day as a set of four quarters: morning, midday, afternoon, evening. If you blow one quarter, you get back on track for the next quarter.”
This approach gives you multiple fresh starts throughout the day, rather than waiting for tomorrow to begin again.
How to set up your four quarters
Why this works
The Four Quarters Technique works because it:
Real-life applications
For remote workers:
For parents:
For students:
Extra tips
Bottom line
The Four Quarters Technique brings structure without rigidity. When things go wrong, and they will, you’re only hours away from your next fresh start. This balance of organization and forgiveness makes sustainable productivity possible.
Try this approach for one week. When you miss a target in one quarter, consciously reset for the next instead of writing off your day. Your productivity and peace of mind will grow.
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