If you are someone that never seems to stop moving, is continuously bouncing from one task to another, and still can’t catch up, then time-batching might be the perfect option for you.

This is not about time blocking, though that is also an excellent method to use. You aren’t choosing each task to perform at certain times like in time blocking, but instead batching similar tasks together to be more effective and productive.

Why Should You Time-Batch?

Before we get into the steps needed to start time-batching, let’s go over some of the reasons why this might be a good idea for you.

You Don’t Have to Multi-Task

Multi-tasking is rarely good for productivity, even though the opposite seems true. Every time you switch from one task to another, your focus and energy get interrupted. With time batching, you are doing similar tasks all in one chunk of time, getting them all out of the way and not interrupting your focus as much.

Time-Batching Helps Save Time

You will be saving yourself a lot of time for other things. If you never seem to get everything on your to-do list done, give time batching a try and see if it helps.

In summary, time-batching allows you to get more done in less time.

Tips for Productive Time-Batching

Ready to get time-batching? Here are some things to know and steps to take to get started.

You need to group similar tasks together

To start with, the tasks you batch together need to be the same or at least similar. This might include all tasks using a specific program, all brainstorming tasks, or all writing tasks. If you have a lot of paperwork to do, get it all done during time batching, instead of doing paperwork, then writing, then making calls.

Choose a time of day when you are in the flow for that type of work

Everyone has flow states, where you can do certain types of work more efficiently during different times of the day. If you film videos for YouTube as part of your job, think of the time of day when you feel most motivated to do this. That is probably going to be your flow state.

Be realistic with how long it will take to complete

Don’t assume you can get these tasks done in an hour if you are doing four times more than you typically would since you are batching the tasks together. It might take a little time figuring out how long you need to schedule for each batch of time.