We’ve talked before about batching tasks and how collecting things that are similar or have similar processes together will help you save time and mental overhead. However, I wanted to touch back on the subject as it’s something that takes time to develop and a quick reminder never hurts – myself included.
Many times I’ll find myself doing a daily review and realizing that I again spent too much time “putting out fires” (taking on items that someone thought were priority…just because). It’s a long process to get to the point where you can say “no” to most of these and then you will also have to deal with the priority issues that you yourself come up with during the day.
So, how can we do this? I came across this idea of using a sort of time management technique to really get going and make yourself more productive. You can’t use it all the time, but it sure can be effective:
image from time.com
Have you ever noticed that you’re super-productive right before you go away for a week or two? The thought of a potentially distraction-free vacation is a powerful inducement to get stuff done in a timely fashion. The thing is, you could probably use that kind of time management wizardry even when you’re not planning on heading to the beach anytime soon. Think about what you could do with a free afternoon every week, or an extra hour or two a day. If you heed the lessons you learn when you’re getting ready for vacation, you can reap benefits in the form of more time to think great thoughts, learn something new, or even take a nap, if your boss is cool with it. Here’s how.
If you’re good at getting stuff done before vacation, you’re probably already using one of the best productivity tricks: task-batching.
When you answer all your emails one after another, or return every phone call on your list, or process all your reports before taking a break and moving on to the next, you’re batching tasks – and being highly productive. Work Like You’re About to Go on Vacation
I think this is a great idea and something especially effective for those of us with a little more flexibility in our schedule. Want to get done early or have a really long weekend without feeling guilty? Beyond getting better at managing your expectations you can incorporate this idea of working like you are at your most effective…to work at your most effective!
In case you haven’t watched it before – you can see the short video I made previously showing you how to batch tasks in Todoist.
I'm Adam Moody with the Productivity Academy. Get your productivity, time management, automation, and organization questions answered here. Be sure to check out the Productivity Academy YouTube Channel.
