When work starts piling up, how do you approach your long to do list? The only thing you’re thinking about is how fast you can get this all done. So you start working on everything at once, because that SHOULD get everything done. But then you realize you have started everything, finished nothing, and quality seems to have been compromised for time.

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Multitasking

Multitasking allows you to believe you are working hard. It keeps you “busy”. But just because you are busy does not mean your accomplishing work to its highest degree. When you are multitasking you lose your focus. You are spreading yourself thin, which in return affects what it is you are working on. You feel defeated when the day ends and you see how little you actually accomplished, which causes stress, fatigue, and burnout. This is why getting work done through multitasking is not the most efficient way to work through that to do list. How we approach projects and tasks needs to change.

Further, we tend to operate in a constant state of reaction. Whether it’s an email, text message, or unexpected meeting, we’re constantly having to re-shift our focus. These minor distractions add up, and each time they happen, it takes time for us to regain our focus. This loss of productivity can also lead to stress and perpetually drain.

There is a way to fix this problem though! And the answer to these time management problems is called Batching.

Batching

Batching is the process of organizing that to do list. This means breaking it down and grouping similar tasks to make it much more approachable. Turn this list into a manageable one; 1-4 hour long tasks are the best lengths for getting things done. This way you know by the end of the day you will have something to show for it and can actually scratch something off that list. You will end the day feeling good and ready to take on the rest of your tasks the next day.

This new form of time management also allows for much greater quality of work. You now have the time to offer 100% of your focus to these broken down tasks. This focus lets things get done more accurately and faster too! Batching energizes you, and motivates you. Seeing tasks get completed pushes you to want to accomplish more. The breakdown that batching allows makes this all possible.

By using this new time management approach we can change the way tasks get done. We can elevate the quality of work we are producing. We just need to get everyone on board. If we can get past the cover that multitasking gives us, we can learn how to utilize batching to its fullest degree.