I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say that batch working has changed my life. It’s made me less stressed and helped me create so much more forward momentum towards my goals. In fact, I’m kind of mad nobody told me about it before – it’s that good.
So What is Batch Working?
Batch working is a simple but effective way of managing your time in order to maximise productivity and limit distraction. Similar tasks are batched together and completed all in one go, before moving onto a new set of tasks. Rather than jumping around between different tasks all day, you’re able to focus on just one thing and complete it to a higher standard.
And What Can I I
Use It For?
Batch working can be used for almost anything. You could use it for creative projects or side hustles, such as a blog or a podcast, by breaking the project down into smaller chunks. For example, if you’re a blogger, you might:
- Write all of your blogposts in one chunk
- Take all the photographs for upcoming posts in one day
- Create all of your Pinterest graphics in one sitting
- Write Instagram captions for the week
Alternatively you can use it in your personal life for things like:
- Making appointments – make all of you doctor’s, dentist, hair, nail etc. appointments in one sitting
- Cooking – meal prep all of your meals for the week on one assigned day
- Texts & Emails – answer all of your texts & emails together
- Cleaning – make one day of the week the day where you clean the house/do all of your laundry etc.
Okay, But Why Should I Be Using It?
1. You’ll Be More Efficient
When we’re constantly switching our mind from task to task, we’re reducing our ability to work effectively. In fact, multitasking seriously increases the length of time it takes us to finish a task and actually causes us to make more errors!
By focusing all of our attention on just one thing, we can really get our brains in the right gear & get completely stuck into whatever it is we’re doing. There’s no need to constantly switch hats. You can just get into your groove and stay there!
I saw the biggest difference when I decided to start batch-writing my blogposts. I now sit down to write them for an entire day and get so much more done. In the past it seemed to take me an age to write just one post & I always felt like I was playing catch-up. When batch-writing, I breeze through 10 or more posts & feel good about the fact that I’ve got content ready to go for the next few weeks!
2. You’ll Constantly Feel Ahead
If you’re someone that constantly feels overwhelmed by all the things that they’ve got to do, batch working will be your new best friend. Like I just said, batch working means that I have content written weeks before it actually needs posting, which means I finally feel ahead of the game. No more stressing and cutting it close to the deadline!
It’s a great way to get ahead of the curve and free up time to get those little extra bits done – like creating a product or finally getting that email list set up!
3. You’ll Have Better Mental Clarity
Having a constant to-do list running through you mind isn’t fun. In fact, it’s kind of stressful. Constantly reminding yourself of all the different jobs you’ve got to do each day feels like spinning plates – write blogpost, take photos, write caption, the list goes on. It can make your mind feel seriously messy.
Think of batch working as the Marie Kondo of your brain – clearing everything up & helping you to see clearly. When you’ve allocated a certain day to a task and complete the whole batch, you can feel a lot calmer about the rest of your week. No more stressing every day about what caption to write because past you has already done it! (Isn’t she just the best?)
When you’re not constantly scrambling to stay on top of things, you’ve got more space to review the bigger picture. You can take a look at where you/your business is heading, rather than the minutiae of your daily life, and implement meaningful change to reap big results! (Told you batch-working would be life changing)
