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Let’s jump into Task Batching 101. This is fast and fabulous to get you feeling more confident to use my #1 favorite productivity technique to front stack my progress. I use time batching in my business AND at home!
Today’s topic is a dynamo duo that I swear by – time blocking and its trusty sidekick, task batching. This is episode is #2 of 5 for my special productivity techniques series where I’m sharing my favorite time-management strategies for busy mom entrepreneurs In this episode, we’re exploring task batching 101! This is my #1 productivity tip for front stack progress! I love using it to stay AHEAD of my workload!
The Dance of Time Blocking and Batching
In my mind, time blocking and task batching are like the Batman and Robin of productivity strategies – a dynamic duo that kicks inefficiency to the curb. Last time, we delved into the wonders of time blocking, creating a roadmap for our day. Now, let’s talk about its partner in crime – batching!
Imagine this: time blocking is like arranging different tasks neatly in your calendar, and batching is the superhero move of making sure the right tasks are arm in arm, ready to tackle your to-do list like a well-oiled machine.
Time Batching 101: The Art of Grouping
So, what’s batching all about? It’s the art of grouping similar tasks together and tackling them all at once, rather than spreading them out like breadcrumbs. Think newsletter creation, podcast recording, content creation – the usual suspects. But here’s the kicker – batching isn’t just for work; it’s a lifestyle.
Picture this: you wouldn’t run errands zigzagging across town, right? No, you’d batch them – hit one side of town, then the other, and finally, head home. It’s all about efficiency and avoiding unnecessary back-and-forths.
Now, when it comes to your work, instead of creating your newsletter every Monday, why not block out the first Monday of the month and batch all four newsletters for the entire month? It’s about getting into the zone once and powering through.
But wait, it’s not just work tasks that can be batched; we can bring this efficiency home too. Ever tried doubling or tripling a recipe? Congratulations, you just batched dinner! Freeze those extra meals, and voila – you’ve made your future self’s busy night a whole lot easier.
Time Batching: The Efficiency Boost You Need
Who could benefit from batching, you ask? Well, if you’re always feeling a step (or several) behind, batching is your superhero cape. Planning a vacation? Batch as much as you can before you go, and you’ll be sipping cocktails without a care in the world. It keeps you ahead of deadlines, and let me tell you, that’s a power move!
How to Win at Batching
Now, let’s talk about how to win at batching – and yes, there are some pitfalls to avoid.
1. Break it Down: Don’t try to batch the entire podcast at once. Break it down into researching, recording, editing, and show notes. Small tasks make the big picture less overwhelming.
2. Find Your Sweet Spot: Understand your capacity. Maybe newsletters are your jam, and you can whip out four at once. Video creation? Two might be your sweet spot. Find what works for you, and remember, it might start small and grow with consistency.
Consistency is Key – that’s Task Batching 101!
Here’s the truth – just like time batching, batching is a skill that gets better with time. At first, you might feel slow and overwhelmed, allowing distractions to creep in. But stick with it, stay consistent, and watch yourself become a batching maestro. Less but better – that’s the name of the game.
Why Batching Rocks Your Productivity World
Batching isn’t just a cool trick; it’s a productivity powerhouse:
Zone Mode Activated: Stay in the zone and knock tasks out one after another. No more constant gear-switching.
Stay Ahead of Deadlines: Being ahead feels incredible. Batching puts you in the driver’s seat, cruising confidently ahead of deadlines.
So there you have it, Task Batching 101 folks. Try it out, find your groove, and revel in the newfound efficiency. Remember, it’s not about doing more; it’s about doing it smarter. Stay tuned for more productivity wisdom on the Balancing Busy podcast. Until then, keep batching, keep balancing, and keep rocking that busy life!
[00:00:00] Leah: In my mind, time blocking and batching go hand in hand. So I love that I’m talking about these two back to back. If time blocking is putting different tasks Inside your calendar in order, batching is making sure that the right tasks are together so that you are using your time the most effective way possible.
[00:00:23] Leah: It’s about grouping similar action items together and doing them all at once instead of one at a time. This is most obvious when we talk about things like newsletter creation, podcast creation, content creation, but it’s also relevant even in things in our home and all over our daily life. You wouldn’t run errands and say, you know what, I’m going to go all the way across town to one side, then I’m going to go all the way to the other side, and then I’m going to go back across town.
[00:00:53] Leah: to get back to where I had just been. You would say, no, I’m going to hit the two stores I need to that are over on one side of the town, then I’ll cross over to the other side of the town, finish the other place, and then head home. That’s what batching is. Batching is about looking and saying, what things can I group together so that I don’t have to go back and forth, back and forth.
[00:01:11] Leah: So instead of looking at your newsletter and saying, oh, I create my newsletter. Every week on Monday, because I need to send it out on Tuesday. You would block out a Monday and say, okay, Mon, first Monday of the month, I am blocking out multiple hours and I’m gonna try to do all four newsletters for the entire month.
[00:01:32] Leah: You’re batching them together. Then you get to get into the zone once and just go
[00:01:37] Leah: now, it’s not just about batching work things. We can also batch home things. One of my favorites is when you double or triple a recipe. You just essentially batched dinner because now you can freeze two of those dinners and now you know that I sat down. Well, you didn’t sit you stood but you made dinner once and you were able to freeze two others So that on a busy night down the road, you’ve got dinner ready Batching is simply about tackling tasks at the same time.
[00:02:13] Leah: This way you avoid that constant switching gears and you just increase your efficiency. It’s like meal prepping for your week. You do it once and it pays off all week long. So here’s who I feel batching can really help. Those who feel like they’re always just a little bit behind, or maybe a lot behind.
[00:02:31] Leah: If you know you’re going to take time off, batching is amazing. Anyone who wants to have a vacation without working through their vacation, you batch as much as you can before you go. I do this when I’m coming up on holidays, when I’m coming up on summer break. If I, Was, you know, thinking about maternity leave, which I’m not, but any of those things, those are real amazing opportunities to front stack or batch a bunch of your work so that you don’t have to worry about it when you’re, say, enjoying the holidays, actually enjoying the holidays or your maternity leave or that incredible vacation, whatever, whatever it might be for you.
[00:03:13] Leah: Here’s why it works. It keeps you in the zone and it gets you ahead of deadlines. And oh, there is so much power that comes when you are ahead of deadlines. I mean, you just feel so confident. You just feel like, I am amazing. And let’s be honest, when we are behind. We feel terrible. It is a horrible feeling.
[00:03:35] Leah: So batch, get yourself ahead and then work to stay ahead. Now, here’s how to fail at batching. Number one thing is just not breaking the outcome into small enough tasks. So you say, okay, I’m going to batch the podcast instead of I’m batching researching. Now I’m batching recording. Now I’m batching, say, editing.
[00:04:00] Leah: Now I’m batching show notes. If we take too much all at once, it becomes overwhelming, and of course we’re going to want to avoid it. We’re going to just be like, Nope, just kidding. Don’t want to. Go away. But if we break it down small enough, we can be really successful. Also, you’re going to need to find your personal sweet spot. Maybe when you’re sitting down to do newsletters, that is your jam. And you really can write four at once and you’re golden. Maybe you can even write more. But maybe when you’re trying to create video, that’s a lot harder for you.
[00:04:31] Leah: And you can really only do two. two at a time before it just becomes too overwhelming. So make sure you are figuring out what your sweet spot is for the amount you can batch and just know it might start smaller. And then as you continue to batch, as you stay consistent, you’re going to get better and better at this.
[00:04:51] Leah: It’s the same with all of these techniques. Time blocking in the beginning, you’re terrible at it because you’re really bad at guessing how long things will take. But the more and more you do it, the better you get. Batching in the beginning. You’re terrible at it because you’re slow and you get overwhelmed and so you allow distraction to creep in and you think you can get way more done than you actually can, but with consistency we get better and better and we’re able to do less but better to get more done in less time to feel more on top of things and more confident and just more aware of what things actually take and it makes all the difference.
[00:05:29] Leah: All right, that is batching. Let’s keep going.
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