Task Batching For Productivity: Your Ultimate Guide
Do you batch your work?
Do you have a never ending to-do list, where you jump from task to task and end up feeling overwhelmed really easily?
Task batching helps you work more efficiently, which improves your overall focus and productivity.
Task batching means you can focus all of your attention on specific things in one go. For example, if you currently dip in and out of certain admin tasks throughout the day which distracts you and stops your flow, you can batch these tasks together and tackle all of them in a set period of time.
One of my biggest distractions is checking emails and then reacting to the ones that either seem interesting, or need me to take action.
By limiting this to specific times, you can limit the distractions and remain more focused on what you need to be working on.
Task batching is a great way to not only get more done, but to also remove the feeling of overwhelm, which will save you time and energy every day.
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Table of Contents
What is Task Batching?
When you choose to batch your tasks together, you’re giving yourself a more calm and structured way of working.
If you're multi-passionate, with a million different things that need your attention, task batching removes the risk of multitasking.
When you multitask, you tend to jump around from one thing to the next. This can limit your productivity because you’re never fully focusing on the task in hand.
Not only this, but you waste time getting your mind back into focus for the other tasks. Some research found that it takes 23 minutes to refocus on your work after you step away from it.
That adds up to a lot of time wasted!
Task batching also lessens the risk of more complicated, challenging or boring tasks being ignored. Procrastination is often associated with feelings and emotions, so something that feels easier, or is more enjoyable to do is going to get a lot more attention from you!
By batching your tasks together in these blocks of time, you will be able to keep your mind in that flow state, minimising the disruption, and achieving much more.
Benefits of Task Batching
- Improved Energy: When your brain is switching from one thing to the next, it’s going to drain your energy much quicker. This is because it needs to work harder each time you begin processing the new / different information. You will also feel calmer and less stressed, which can significantly impact your energy and focus. It removes the risk of decision fatigue once you’re in the routine of batching, because you know what you need to focus on.
- Increased Productivity: Batching similar tasks together will improve your productivity because you will keep your level of focus high, instead of experiencing that start/stop of work. It’s much easier to concentrate when you’ve been focusing on similar tasks as your head’s already thinking in that way.
- Improved Time Management: Time management – or self management will be easier because you can visually see what you’re going to be focusing on. It can feel easier to plan your around the task themes. If you know that your energy dips late in the morning, you can plan to batch tasks that are less complicated or higher in energy at that time of day.
- Improved Confidence: Task batching can also help you to feel more confident in yourself and in your work. When you’re organised and calm in your approach, things feel a lot less chaotic and confusing. Removing the uncertainty of what you’re going to work on next, helps to make you feel in control of what you’re focusing your time and energy on. As you feel more productive, and your progress improves, you’ll feel more confident in your ability to get your tasks complete.
Getting Started With Task Batching
To begin with you’ll want to get clear on everything you’re working on, the tasks involved and the time that you have each week.
Brain Dump
Brain dumping is great for getting clarity of everything you’re currently working on. Take your time with this – allocate an hour to initially get things set up.
Write down EVERYTHING that you do. This can include things like emails / invoicing / responding to clients / posting on socials / writing content / creating offers / marketing / finding images for posts and socials / personal tasks / sending emails etc.
Categorise tasks. This is where you will look at everything you have written down, and group the tasks based on similarities. There may be some overalls with things, so keep an eye on these, and you can continue to refine the groups as you go along.
For example, if you write blogs, what tasks can you group in the same timeblock, and what tasks need to be completed separately?
- Planning
- Research
- Writing Drafts
- Editing Drafts (spell check etc)
- Uploading into blog for formatting
- Creating / Sourcing Images
- Linking Images to Pinterest
- SEO / Linking to other sites
- Sharing new post
This list is a quick overview, there are more steps, but for the purpose of this, you can see that there are several different tasks that will require a different focus.
Simply blocking 4 hours to write, publish, share your post, including the creation of images, the SEO aspect etc., will not be the best use of your time and energy.
I would batch plan blogs, and not do at the same time with the rest of the process. Similarly with writing drafts. I would do these separately from planning, research, uploading etc.
This may feel a bit weird to begin with, if you’re used to starting and finishing one thing at a time. But, it’s highly effective because your head is focused in writing mode, or research mode.
When I first began blogging I would just give myself a day to write and publish a post. It put me off regularly writing because it felt like so much work.
Now, when I batch plan or batch write blogs, it feels a lot easier, and it means I always have more than a few drafts ready for me for the next step.
When you’re in the creative mode, it’s easy to lose that focus when you then move on to marketing for example. Batching creative tasks together – whether for blog images, Pinterest or images for digital products, I get much more done than if I stop to move onto the next step.
I do also separate some creative tasks. For example, if I’m creating digital products (journals or planners) that have information that needs to be added into them, I don’t do these at the same time as blog / social images.
Planning Your Batching Sessions
Now that you have all of your tasks categorised, it’s time to map these into your weekly calendar.
With this, pay attention to the times that you know you are naturally more energised and productive. It wouldn’t make sense to batch activities that take a lot of energy and concentration at a time when your energy levels fall, or you know it’s more likely that you’ll be interrupted.
Managing Interruptions and Distractions
All of this is great on paper, but it’s also important that you create good boundaries around your working day.
Many of us now live in a culture where everybody is instantly contactable, and there’s often a strong urge to respond or react as quickly as possible.
This isn’t a healthy or sustainable way of living, and it’s why creating good boundaries is essential.
Practical Tips:
- Turn on your Do Not Disturb function.
- Join an online focus group (Study Verse is a great one).
- Put your out of office on so that people are aware that you may not get back to them for a day or two.
- Schedule in your breaks throughout the day, and be boundaried with these times. You can scroll / eat / move around.
- If you need to be more frequent with checking emails etc due to your work, schedule these in around your time block sessions.
- Take a mini break to reset your mind if you’ve become distracted. Pushing through but getting nowhere risks you approaching the rest of the day like this. So take a few moments, calm your thoughts, use your breath to bring your mind back to the present moment.
Free Task Batching Worksheets!
Download your free brain dump worksheets.
Organise your tasks & plan your week with ease!
Improving Your Productivity
As with any new approach, it may take a bit of trial and error to find your feet with task batching. The first few days will be about paying close attention to the impact your focused sessions are having on your progress, focus, energy levels and overall productivity.
Paying attention to this will help you identify any patterns, and make any changes to improve your energy and productivity.
Are there certain batch sessions that drain you? Are there ones that energise you, or take less time than predicted? Do the tasks you’ve grouped together flow well?
Being flexible with your routine in the beginning will help you get to know your patterns, energy levels and also understand what’s working well and what needs changing.
As someone who’s a big fan of flexible planning and working, task batching fits perfectly with this. If you know your energy isn’t great, you can simply switch your focus sessions around to accommodate this.
Tools Resources & Support
My favourite tools that supports my monthly planning and daily productivity are:
Sunsama – A brilliant task management that is perfect for busy and neurodiverse minds who easily find themselves overwhelmed and distracted. grab a free 2 week trial and free month!
Time Audit – Gain a clear understanding of exactly where your time and your energy is spent. Highly recommend doing this if you're planning to focus on increased productivity.
Tailwind – Fantastic scheduling tool. Great for Pinterest and repurposing across different social media platforms.
RightBlogger – Great AI tool for bloggers. Support with content ideas, SEO & more.
Canva Pro – Upgrade your content design with Canva Pro. Explore the enhanced features available in Pro. Grab your free trial here!
Etsy – Are you ready to create your own online store? Etsy is a brilliant shopping platform that's used by millions. Setting up your store is simple, and when you sign up with this link we both get 40 free listings!
PIPs – Passive Income Pathways by the fantastic Sadie Smilie. Learn how to build a successful blog. highly recommend this membership!
Final Thoughts
If you find it difficult to manage your time day-to-day, give task batching a go.
As a neurodiverse, easily distractible person, task batching has eased the pressure that I would feel when faced with multiple different projects to work on.
Task batching is a great way to keep your mind focused on similar tasks, increasing your productivity and lessening some of the pressure that can be felt when you have a lot to juggle.
I always suggest doing a time audit when you implement a new strategy, because we can easily under or overestimate the actual time we spend on different things.
Brain dumping and frequently reflecting on your workload, efficiency and work – life balance are also key elements for creating a less chaotic way of working.
I would love to know how you have found task batching, please feel free to share your thoughts below!
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Meet Lynsey
Hey there! I'm Lynsey, a coach, counsellor, and mentor for low energy, introverted or low confident female coaches & small business owners. With over 5 years’ experience of running businesses, and over a decade as a tutor and trainer, I've learned the value of effective time management that energises you through working with your energy.
I've lived with chronic illness – ME/CFS since 2011 and since then I re-trained as a counsellor, and achieved a distinction for my MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice; all while running 4 businesses! I want that for you as well & it is possible with the right support and pathway to success.
Improving your mindset, finding acceptance and developing a solution-focused approach to achieving your goals is my passion. Blending mental health support where needed, as well as a supportive space and methods to manage your work more effectively.
If you'd like to know more about working with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on socials (links in the menu)
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