WEBVTT - Batch similar tasks 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to batch similar tasks. Batching tasks, sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>referred to as batch processing, cuts down on the time

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<v Speaker 1>and energy expended by task switching. You know those times

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<v Speaker 1>when you find yourself hopping back and forth multiple times

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<v Speaker 1>an hour between the document you're working on and your inbox,

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<v Speaker 1>suspecting you're getting nothing done, Well, you're probably right. You

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<v Speaker 1>aren't getting much done. Do one type of task at

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<v Speaker 1>a time, and you can save yourself all kinds of time.

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<v Speaker 1>We live in a world that encourages near constant tasks switching.

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<v Speaker 1>We carry around our phones in our pockets and we

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<v Speaker 1>check them every time they buzz. The problem with this

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<v Speaker 1>is that cognitive scientists have found that tasks switching has

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<v Speaker 1>various costs. We make more errors, and although switching can

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<v Speaker 1>feel productive, tasks take longer to get done since we

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<v Speaker 1>lose time on every transition. If you listen to this podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>you probably already know this, but easier said than done. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>as I've been working on this episode, my fingers have

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<v Speaker 1>felt almost twitchy, wanting to pop into my inbox to

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<v Speaker 1>see what's going on in there or how many people

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<v Speaker 1>liked my most recent photo on Instagram. I see my

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<v Speaker 1>journal on my desk, and I know that I meant

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<v Speaker 1>to write in there too, So should I stop now

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<v Speaker 1>and do that? Yeah. It turns out that knowing and

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<v Speaker 1>doing are different things. So if you're serious about batch

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<v Speaker 1>ng similar tasks, there are a few things to do. First,

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<v Speaker 1>be intentional about it, which is always a good idea.

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<v Speaker 1>With time, sit down and make a list of all

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<v Speaker 1>the work tasks that you do in a regular week,

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<v Speaker 1>and think about when you do them. Consider whether some

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<v Speaker 1>of them could be badged for greater efficiency, and make

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<v Speaker 1>a plan for when you'll carry out your badge processing.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, maybe you save an hour for responding to

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<v Speaker 1>email at the end of the work day. This way,

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<v Speaker 1>you avoid the task switching costs of checking email when

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<v Speaker 1>you may be doing your deeper work, but you still

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<v Speaker 1>respond to all important messages promptly. Email at the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the day may be a particularly good idea for

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<v Speaker 1>those of us who feel like our brains are too

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<v Speaker 1>fried by three pm to do anything more complex. I

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<v Speaker 1>try to work on a week's worth of podcast scripts

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<v Speaker 1>in one block. You can send all your invoices or

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<v Speaker 1>pay all your bills at the same time too. If

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<v Speaker 1>you're setting up a lot of meetings for a project,

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<v Speaker 1>you can try to do all the scheduling at once,

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<v Speaker 1>which is helpful for then batching meetings meet for three

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<v Speaker 1>hours in the afternoons, and your mornings can be open

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<v Speaker 1>for other things. It's likely you're already using batched task

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<v Speaker 1>processing in some areas of your life without thinking about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Most of us wait to do laundry until we have

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<v Speaker 1>enough dirty clothes for a full load, rather than washing

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<v Speaker 1>every single item as it gets dirty. This is not

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<v Speaker 1>to say that all similar tasks should be batched. There's

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<v Speaker 1>often good reason for doing certain things daily are spreading

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<v Speaker 1>things out throughout the week. Not everyone feels like cooking

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<v Speaker 1>for the week on Sundays, but batchng light tasks allows

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<v Speaker 1>you to get in the groove and establish efficiencies. You

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<v Speaker 1>plow through your inbox, you actually write the memo you're writing,

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<v Speaker 1>you order all the kids summer clothes, and then you're done.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, this technique should leave you with the

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<v Speaker 1>time and energy to focus on what really matters in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.