Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Batch Working Towards Productivity in the New Year

Happy New Year!  I love this time of year because it is great to reset and prioritize my goals and objectives.  And while I have several goals for 2019, my focus on batch working is going to help me accomplish those goals more efficiently.


This past fall I listened to an episode of Jenna Kutcher's Goal Digger podcast about Batch Work and immediately was inspired to start initiating this strategy in my life.  Now I will admit, I don't always listen to the Goal Digger podcast because I feel like it is aimed towards women who have businesses that are looking at growing and expanding reach, customers, etc.  And yes, while I do have the farm and even this blog (which by the way today is my 7th Anniversary!), goals of growth aren't necessarily my objective, but from time to time I feel like Jenna Kutcher shares productivity tips and social media strategies that can benefit everyone, like this episode on Batch Work. 

Do you ever feel like you are multi-tasking so much that you never get anything done?  Or do you get to the end of the day and can't really pinpoint what you accomplished?  Or do you have a goal of focusing in the New Year?  Then Batch Working is for you.

What is Batch Work? 
Simply put, batch working is setting aside chunks of time to complete a series of similar tasks.  In Jenna's podcast, she talks about how this can be broken down into hours, days or even weeks to help you focus in on one topic or area, so rather than doing all those little things every day, you are only doing them once a week or even once a month.

Being focused on just one thing leads to increased productivity and quality of work.  It also makes us feel more accomplished in the work we do and reduces stress by working on things ahead of time rather than procrastinating til right before the task is due.

Tasks to Batch Work
When thinking through your daily, weekly or monthly tasks, ask yourself how you could set aside time to do that specific priority. 

For me personally, there are some tasks I have to do daily.  I have to do laundry, dishes and clean up my house every day.  With six people under one, small roof, I can't batch work these tasks otherwise we would be drowning in dirty clothes and have no dishes to eat off of.  But I do set aside time right away in the morning and after supper to work on these things, including my kids in these tasks as much as possible.

I also reply to my emails daily.  Rather than just checking or scanning them as they come through on my phone and then never responding, or replying constantly throughout the day.  I try to set aside a couple times a day to reply to my emails.  It depends on my schedule for the day but traditionally I have been replying to emails after my kids are on the bus and everyone has had breakfast around 7 a.m., after we have ate dinner at 1 p.m., and sometimes if I need to after the kids have went to bed around 8 p.m.

I did decide that I can make a schedule and batch work certain priorities.  I usually do my batch work during my family's afternoon "quiet time" but if I'm gone for a meeting or a different commitment, I'll schedule a time to get those tasks done.  For me those tasks are:  Weekly Planning, Social Media, Blog Posts, Farm Books, Church Commitments, Kids Needs and Home Organization.  If you didn't notice I determined my Top 7 priorities, one for every day of the week. 

For example, on Mondays I concentrate on Social Media.  I am responsible for several social media accounts, so on Mondays I schedule as many social media posts as I can for each of those accounts and then make a plan for extras that will need to be added in as the week goes along.  On Wednesdays, I work on our Farm Books.  I prepare bills, balance accounts and concentrate on marketing.  Now Fridays are Kids Needs, and while this doesn't mean I don't take care of my children's needs throughout the week... It just means I'm concentrating on special needs or activities they need my assistance with.

So, do you think batch working could help you?  Do you have a goal to be more productive in the New Year?  What are your goals or resolutions for 2019?  I can't wait to hear your ideas and wish you all a blessed and productive New Year!

6 comments:

  1. YES! I loved this episode and have been making more attempts to batch. Social media and writing blog posts and emails are WAY more productive when I batch. Thanks for the great post Val!

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  2. I could definitely be better about doing things in batches, especially social media scheduling. I tend to do things on a whim instead ;-) Happy blogging anniversary!

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  3. Yes, any entrepreneur wants to increase productivity by using solutions that are as simple as possible. I suggest you try a site with free software in the form of an email tracker. This tool will save you time and eliminate the need to work with people who are not interested in your offers. In addition, you can always find out the exact time when your letter was opened by the recipient and what happened to this letter next.

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  4. I like it when studios, companies and professionals provide packages or comprehensive services. For example, I recently contacted ilogos to develop the mobile game https://ilogos.biz/mobile-game-development-ios-or-android/, and it's great that these game dev experts provide full-cycle game development, so I didn't have to look for additional specialists.

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  5. I have some problems with running a business. There are a lot of tasks, but at the same time there is no time left for solving more important tasks. What can be done about it?

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  6. If I were you, I'd turn to developers, or use solutions such as backend low code platform ProcessMIX, because this can be a great option for those who do not want to spend too much time and money on development, but still want to get a quality business tool. Such platforms use visual development tools and pre-made nodes for app functionalities.

    ReplyDelete