Batching Your Success

   How are you batching tasks in your life? And how can you take that practice further, to take your success further?

   We all know about batch cooking, preparing the weeks meals ahead of time so that we save time during the week. This let's us focus on cooking when we're cooking, and the rest of our lives when we aren't. This practice saves us time when implemented well. And that valuable resource, time, can be reallocated towards our other goals. 

   So why don't many of us batch other tasks? 

   This is a practice I have been doing for years, and it works wonders for improving my outcomes professionally. I decide the night before exactly what related tasks I will be working on the next day. This helps me be more efficient, effectively getting more done. And because I am focused on one area at a time, the quality of my results improves as I don't need to switch cognitively between different unrelated action items throughout the day. 

   I do this by spending a couple of minutes preparing at the end of each day. Rather than grinding right until quitting time, I will take 15-20 minutes at the end of the day to get ready for the following day. This process provides some huge benefits in two main areas. 

   The first benefit, my efficiency. In those last 15 minutes, I can source the data and reports that I will need first thing the next morning. Having those files open on my desktop enables me to jump right into those important tasks without extra mental efforts the next morning. I don’t need to think about the long list of to-do items first thing in the morning, I already know what I’ve selected to do. And that simple process saves some of those important decision-making “juices” for later in the day. Prioritizing this way also helps me group my to-do list into general areas. As an accountant, I will batch tasks such as vendor expense reconciliations and payments, since these are both related to corporate expenses. Another day I will deal with invoicing, analyzing outstanding receivables, and forecasting future revenues. Again, these tasks all have a similarity. Once I know what the day will be spent on, I can forget about the other aspects of the business, knowing that the time for analysis and reporting is scheduled for another day.

   Many of the ultra-successful have practices like this. Joel Osteen, the iconic pastor and world-class orator, batches his tasks. Certain days are dedicated exclusively to reading, generating ideas. Other days are spent entirely on writing his weekly speech. And yet other days are dedicated to practicing that speech. By batching his tasks, he is able to produce a brand new key-note speech each and every week. That is the power of batching. That is how you can batch your success.

   The second benefit is more subtle, but exceptionally powerful. By spending the last few minutes every day closing down that day’s tasks, and planning for the morrow, I am effectively closing down my work day. This helps me leave work at work.

   We’ve all had days where we don’t get what we wanted done. We show up and it seems the whole business went up in flames since we last looked. All our carefully laid plans are thrown out the window. Spending the last few minutes of the day setting plans of attack for the following day helps us stay in control. And knowing you have a plan before you head home helps you leave some of that chaotic stress from the office at the office, and not bringing that frenzy of stress and negative energy into the home.

   Batching tasks helps us operate more efficiently, which allows us more time for everything else. Our productivity increases, and our results become of higher quality. This is an exceptionally powerful strategy for achieving career success, as getting more work done, of higher quality is certainly a way to increase our professional value. And once the day is done, we can plan our batched tasks for tomorrow. This helps us leave work at work, and promotes a healthier home-life. Success is sustainable only when we lead a healthy, balanced life. Batching for success can help us achieve that.