Batch Your Work to Save Time and Get More Done

11 Comments

It’s no secret I schedule my blog posts, sometimes weeks in advance, but I don’t think I’ve ever talked about why I do it. I showed you how batch processing my emails saves me time during the week and I use that same strategy to get more done.

Above you see my pending broadcasts for the next week and a half at Need a Topic. My calendar reminds me to work on these posts every Thursday at 11am. I know that’s one of my most creative times of day so I set it aside to work on creative things. I’m also crafting this post during the same time, the Thursday prior to it appearing here.

It always takes time to get in the swing of whatever you’re doing so don’t switch back and forth between projects. That may mean turning off your email and sequestering yourself for a period of time.

What’s your best tip for getting more done?

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Posted on August 3, 2011

  • http://www.kevingainey.com Kevin Gainey

    Great advice (as usual). Context switching kills brain cells. I’m sure of it.

    What tool is the “Pending Broadcast” screen from? Is that part of the membership plugin in WP? Just curious.

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    I use Aweber to schedule broadcasts for Need a Topic, Kevin. You’ll love how it all works together behind the scenes for me.

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    I use Aweber to schedule broadcasts for Need a Topic, Kevin. You’ll love how it all works together behind the scenes for me.

  • Anonymous

    For me, I get the most done with a clear head.  I make a list of everything that I need to do (even the little things that only take a minute) and anything else that I don’t want to forget so I don’t have to remember it all on my own.  Then, I stick to that list by doing one thing at a time (the important things first) and don’t cheat by jumping around.
    Turning off the emails is huge for me too Justin.

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    Don’t cheap by jumping around; that’s a good one, Michael.

  • http://bluecollarradionetwork.com James Dibben

    I schedule all blog posts.

    I have two schedules that I run now.

    m-w-f and m-tu-th rotating every other week. I’ve come up with the schedule as a result of the bi-weekly “Let’s Blog Off” that I’m involved with.

    Basically, I write 3 times per week. If I get a creative idea all-of-the-sudden then I’ll write it but schedule it according the the pattern above. that allows me to write a week in advance and sometimes even further.

    I think a mistake a lot of new bloggers make is that they immediately publish every idea that comes to mind. If you create a schedule like this I think you stand a better chance of having regular content.

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    Interesting schedule, James. I agree, being forced to write a great post isn’t a good idea.

  • http://bluecollarradionetwork.com James Dibben

    It wasn’t exactly intentional. I don’t write more than three times per week. Mondays are journal days and every other Tuesday a Let’s Blog Off post is due.
    The LBO people schedule 2 posts per month for me and my journal entries are every Monday morning, a requirement I self imposed.
    This leaves me with only 6 posts per month that I have to pull out of a hat, so to speak.
    It seems to be working well. Traffic has doubled (from not much mind you).

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    Doubling is always good. If you can keep that up it doesn’t matter where you start from.

  • http://twitter.com/PictureBritain Picture Britain

    I’ve just started doing this lately. It does help, and though it might even take the same amount of time to write all my blog posts in one day, it feels great when I don’t have to think about it for the rest of the week!

  • http://coachradio.tv/ Justin Lukasavige

    I thought that as well. In reality though, it takes less time to write the same number of posts when you batch them. It takes time to switch gears and get into the groove so I’ve found I actually save time by blocking them all together. It’s also a great way to make sure I don’t miss a day. ;)