Whole Foods CEO swears by time blocking to boost productivity [Video]

Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel has one primary tactic that keeps him productive, he says: time blocking.

“It’s important that I time-block my schedule so I don’t get stuck in meeting after meeting, and I can focus on Whole Foods Market’s longer-term vision and strategy,” he tells CNBC Make It.

The time-blocking method involves carving out specific windows of time for high-priority work tasks. Spending time in physical stores is a “big priority” for Buechel, for example, so he reserves time in his calendar each Friday to visit at least one location, he says. 

“Getting calendar bombed” by unproductive meetings can derail his day, he recently told LinkedIn’s “This is Working” podcast and video series. Buechel’s daily time-blocked schedule, though, means he’s “only going to meetings that I really need to be there for” and that are “only as long as they need to be.”

On a typical day, Buechel …