Batching tasks is a key part of being highly productive as a small business owner.
But first of all, what is batching tasks?
Batching tasks is being highly focused with no distractions and doing tasks in bulk.
For example, rather than checking emails throughout the day, do them all at once a few times a day.
So, why is batching tasks so important for small business owners?
Switching between tasks will make you waste an incredible amount of time. It will kill your productivity. If you strategically batch tasks, you can eliminate distractions, rapidly increase productivity, and finish with work earlier.
Batching tasks can save you an incredible amount of time
When shooting videos, it takes me 25 minutes to set up the camera and get everything ready, then it’s going to take 10 minutes to tear that down. Then it takes 20 minutes to shoot 1 video and 25 minutes to transfer footage and throw things on the charger.
So, in total it takes about 80 minutes to shoot 1 video. If I batch my shoot, I can do 7 videos in a row. It’s hard work and an extra hour of shooting. The total shoot time goes from 80 minutes to 200 minutes for one session. But the payout is huge. Before batching each video took 80 minutes, after batching each video takes 28 minutes. That means I save 65% percent of the time I would have used just to shoot one video.
What could applying this tactic do for your business and productivity?
Multitasking is a LIE
Multitasking doesn’t actually work. Your brain is simply switching between tasks at a fast speed. You’re not actually able to simultaneously do a variety of tasks at once.
Multitasking decreases productivity by 40%, adds to stress levels, and leads to more mistakes. Ouch.
We think by multitasking we can accomplish a lot more, but science has shown were able to do a lot less.
40% is a HUGE decrease in productivity. If you spend 12 hours working with multitasking, that is the equivalent of working for 7.2 hours being more strategic with your attention and time.
You can free up even more time by applying batching tasks to other areas of your life
Batching chores and other things on your to do list helps you be even more productive with your business.
If you are spending less time on laundry, cleaning errands, this will free up time for more work on your business (or more time relaxing).
For instance for laundry, I do 2-3 loads at a time. And, I listen to audiobooks and training while doing training. I’ve also figured out other ways to speed up the process. For example, I have a container that lets you separate lights and darks. That ends up saving me 10 minutes every time I do laundry.
Another good strategy to apply is to turn off your phone and answer all your emails in a row. That will really keep you focused on tasks at a time that is incredibly important.
How can you improve your productivity even further?
You can increase your productivity even further by taking your top priority for the day, and doing that first, when you have the highest amount of willpower.
Ask the question, if I was only able to do one thing today, what would make the biggest impact?
So for example, one day I set it aside as my blog writing day and I will write over 10,000 words for about eight blog posts because I just turn everything off and I get in the zone. The less time that you can spend jumping between various tasks, the better.
When your day simply has one area of focus, it’s easier to maintain your focus and productivity.
I you want to boost your productivity as a marketer or business owner there are 3 things you’ll really want to avoid like the plague. Watch this short video to find out what they are.
Conclusion: If you want to be insanely productive, start time blocking your days
Our time is precious as entrepreneurs, so finding areas of your life where you can save time is so important for success.
One of the best things you can do is to make a list of tasks you do every day and see if you’re able to save time by laser focusing and doing them one after another.
To help you prioritize your day and batch your tasks you can use a powerful tool like the productivity planner for small business owners that I created. The Productivity Planner for Small Business Owners makes productivity insanely easy, the whole thing is designed around the science of productivity.
And, for a limited time you can get it HERE FOR FREE (just cover shipping and handling).
Once you start batching tasks and being more productive you can have more time to devote to your business and to spending time doing the things you love or spending more time with your family.
Want more tips on increasing productivity? Check out my post on effectively setting high impact goals for your business: Goal Setting with a Growth Mindset