Hi friends,
This is how bizarre life has become: We decided to meet up with friends at the local pub for a Sunday roast. That’s not the bizarre bit. The bizarre bit is that it’s not even happening until June and we’re all so stupidly excited that it involved days of planning and messages. It’ll be our first time inside a pub in eighteen months!
I’ve been working in batches these last few days. I had so many different projects on my plate and so much I was falling behind on that I decided I needed to do something different just so I could catch up, and possibly even get ahead.
So every day, I just pick a single thing and spend the entire day doing just that.
Yesterday, I spent the whole day editing. Today, I’m writing these newsletters. Tomorrow, I have to do a bunch of admin.
I’ve always liked batching my tasks because it means that I’m not having to go from creative brain to analytical brain and back all through the day. I can get up in the morning, get into my creative zone, and then just stay there through the rest of the day, which means that I’m likely to get more done.
It also means that I end up getting through it faster and so don’t have to work quite so much.
I’m really motivated to get things done now so I can take time off during the summer. I’m powering through everything I can now to make life easier for later.
Here are some of the things that can help when you’re batching tasks:
1. Batch similar tasks (for instance, writing) but also similar projects. It breaks your flow to write a pitch, then work on a novel, then outline a blog post. I’d batch all three separately.
2. Batching doesn’t mean you’ll get it all done. Today, all I’m doing is writing newsletters. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to write fifty today. I can’t. I’ll write as many as I can, and then I’ll get on with something else.
3. You can batch your tasks for a day, a few hours, or even just an hour. There is no specific time limit on this. If I get bored of doing these newsletters after a while, I’ll move on to something else.
4. Go with a task you’re in the mood for. I intended to work on the novel today but I wasn’t feeling it this morning, so I’m doing these emails instead. There are no rules.
5. Do it until it works. Then do something else.
Cheers,
Natasha