How to complete projects with the task batching method

We creative professionals have this uncontrollable habit of always thinking and planning new projects. Those can be related to drawing, writing or even courses that we want to do to expand our knowledge in something specific.

However, I am very sure that it has already happened to you that you have all those incredible ideas and plans in your mind but, either you start them and do not finish them, or they accumulate and you do not know where to start. I am right? I also suffered a lot with it.

Therefore, it is important to know how to organize your projects and priorities to see everything come to life, without the need to suffer from burnout. In this article, I will teach you what task batching is, how it works, and how you can apply it in a practical way in your daily life.

Being busy is not the same as being productive

Before anything else, we must clarify this: saying that you are busy all day does not mean that you are necessarily making good use of your time.

This can happen when we oscillate between one idea and another, trying to do many things at once, without focusing on starting or finishing a single task. Perhaps this is due to the need to feel productive, or the anxiety of seeing all our projects completed as soon as possible.

That is a huge mistake, as well as being counterproductive, since over-exploiting yourself in this way can lead to burnout that will paradoxically make you less productive. This may be due to the mental strain of trying to process so much information at once, or trying to tackle so much work at once. In other words, the brain literally gets fried with the exchange of activities.

Therefore, it is better to work continuously on a single task and finish it, than to try to do many things at once and not finish any of them.

About task batching

To talk about this method, let’s think about how we wash clothes. I don’t know about you, but I don’t turn on the washing machine just to wash a pair of socks. I wait until the dirty clothes accumulate to use them.

I do the same with my tasks: I wait for them to accumulate, and I dedicate myself to doing them on specific days of the week, continuously and without interruptions.

In short, task batching is an organization method that groups similar activities together to improve focus and productivity. Do you remember what I said about how the brain gets fried by the exchange of activities? Well, with task batching, you can group and focus on the same tasks during the day.

But how can I do that?

I teach you how to use this method, quickly and efficiently. To do this, you can use any sheet of paper you have available.

List it all!

Make a list of everything you have to do daily, which can contain tasks that are not related to work. Try to think of everything that needs your time and attention.

Identify and Organize!

Now, break the big tasks down into smaller tasks, and sort the list into categories. Group tasks logically, based on function and location.

Create a routine!

Get into a routine, and think of tasks as small blocks of time, which you can stack throughout your week. A good idea is to divide your daily duties between the morning and afternoon of your day.

Golden tips to optimize task batching

Try to avoid working nights, and have one or two days off a week.

Pauses, when they are conscious and not distractions, are very beneficial. They help you return to work with greater focus and disposition. However, they should not last more than 10 minutes. One method that can help you with that is the pomodoro technique. You can read more about it in this Trello blog article.

Having a notebook, agenda or planner will help you identify the tasks completed or to be completed. Plus, it’s a great way to record ideas and your progress.

A very interesting way to personalize a notebook and record your chores, projects and memories is through the practice of bullet journaling. If you would like to know more about it, perhaps this Domestika course can help you. Don’t forget that we have a 10% discount code: CHIBERIANOS-WAIFUS. 😉

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Finally, we learned about task batching, about productivity and how to have a more orderly routine without so much mental and physical wear and tear. Keep in mind that this method is a tool, and you can adapt it to your lifestyle, your tasks, projects and priorities.

If you are interested in reading more about organization and mental health, these articles on how to avoid burnout syndrome and how to stop accumulating creative projects may be of interest to you.

But now I want to know, did you know about task batching? Do you know of any other organization methods that are useful for you? I am very curious to know what tools you use to organize your personal projects! 🙂

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