008. Get More Done Using ONE Simple Trick

Batching is our JAM! When you understand the power of batching and utilize it to help you gain back your time and feel less stressed, you will never want to go back to your normal to-do list again!In our episode How to Lesson Plan Like a PRO, we talked about the power of project planning and in there we gave you a teaser that this week was all about batching. For all those out there that are already batching their work, they will tell you how it has helped them to become more efficient. It’s true. When you bake cookies, you don’t bake one cookie at a time. NO! You batch them. This is how you need to view your productivity. When you batch your work your productivity increases and that leads to less stress and a happier YOU. [1:37] But first! We want to hear your Time Sucking Hurdles! Be sure to click here to share your Time Sucking Hurdle with us and you can be featured in our next episode. [4:00] In our last episode we talked a little about multitasking versus task-switching, and before we move on to the steps to get you started with batching, we want to revisit what this means. For those of you out there thinking that you are fantastic multitaskers and you don’t need batching, what if we told you that you are not truly multitasking? In fact, what if we told you that you are actually task-switching?Multitasking is the act of completing two tasks at once. For instance walking and chewing gum. Sweeping and talking on the phone. Those are examples of multitasking.Task-switching is the act of moving back and forth from one task to the next. Your brain never really gets to focus on one thing because it doesn’t have enough time to process what it is doing. Batching helps to prevent task-switching and gets your brain laser-focused on one “like” task. So let’s stop task-switching! #LetsStopTaskSwitchingNow you’re probably wondering what you can actually do for batching. Well, we’ve got you covered because there are so many areas that you can batch in your life! Answering emails, grading, lesson planning, copies, and laminating are only a few ideas that will get you started. You can also head over to the home page and signup for our 7 Ways to Jumpstart Your Teacher Productivity freebie and get so many more ideas!Now let’s jump into these steps. 5 Steps to Getting More Done[8:15] Step #1: Plan Ahead[10:26] Step #2: Decide How Long it Should Take[12:45] Step #3: Choose a Time to Batch[16:14] Step #4: Gather All of Your Materials[18:00] Step #5: Get it Done[21:22] Review the StepsCONCLUSIONRemember that batching works best for projects that can be broken down to those like tasks. The hardest part is planning. Taking the time to plan each of these steps will ensure that you are successful, but we are confident that if you do follow these steps you will see the reward greater than you can imagine. Let us know what batching has done for you! Be sure to leave a comment here or over on iTunes!SUBSCRIBE & REVIEWAre you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode. Click here to subscribe to iTunes!Now if you’re feeling extra loving, We would be really grateful if you left us a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find our podcast and they’re also fun for us to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!