People often ask me what my productivity secret is. They asked how I was able to do so much work with downtime to decompress. While I do work a lot (I've put in the time), I never agreed with the idea of ​​an 18-hour day. The only time I do this is when I juggle a side hustle and a day job at the same time. When I quit that job and became a full-time self-employed person, I made a conscious decision that I wouldn't be working 18 hours a day because I didn't want to make it a bad habit. Having said that, I had to find something that would help me get a lot done in less time. Or, at least, I have to find a way to use my time more efficiently. This is where batch processing comes in. What is batch processing? Batch processing is a form of productivity in which you schedule a set of tasks. In other words, you have time on your calendar for similar tasks. For example, just yesterday, I bulk edited podcasts and videos. I do this for two reasons. First, my PR people need audio so they can start the pitch on my behalf, so I'm running out of time. Second, new podcast episodes will start rolling out in a few weeks. In my opinion, I am a thousand birds with one stone. I am providing materials to my PR and preparing documents for my team ahead of time. Additionally, I've created six months of content for my blog, website, podcast, and YouTube over the past few weeks. I've done over 20 episodes of podcasts and web shows (now edited). It's a lot of work, but by using the batch productivity method, I can get it done. How can batch help me in this situation. It saves you from multitasking. Multitasking doesn't work. It just doesn't. We end up distracting too much into too many different things instead of actually doing something well. This leads us to mediocre work in all respects. Trust me, I know. I think one of the reasons my podcasts have failed over the industry mailing list two years is because there is no consistency in the release schedule. This is because I am trying to do too many things at once. This time things are a little different. For the past few weeks, I've had some time just focused on finishing this podcast. My Monday was blocked to actually interview guests. I also scheduled a weekend to do some editing (again, since my PR people need the files so they can do their work). I do the same for other projects. For example, I wrote all of these articles on the same day. Alternatively, I'll be writing this week's email marketing on the same day. Finally, I do intensive coaching with clients on Fridays. It gives me structure. How I decide to batch depends on the project I'm working on. For example, right now I'm working on this podcast, but that's temporary. The truth is that batch processing also helps me provide some kind of structure to my week. For example, I only call for consultation during the week, usually in the afternoon. This is because my mornings are reserved for client work. I also make sure to focus on tasks that move my business forward every Monday. This includes creating new products, weekly marketing or team meetings. While none of this is set in stone as projects ebb and flow, it does give me some kind of structure. Many business owners struggle with a lack of structure during the workday (and weeks), which is why they struggle to get things done. Or, they feel overworked because they feel like they 've been working. Is your life stressful? I feel less pressure. Batch processing also helps me reduce stress. This is because I focus on one similar task at a time instead of trying to do multiple things. For example, the day I wrote this article was writing day. I'm not in meetings today, and I'm not very socially active. I need to focus on writing. Doing so can reduce distractions. It also means that I decide what I do with my time, rather than letting other people or my inbox decide for me. The latter is what causes stress because you are always between tasks and agendas. The former gave me a vision and a down-to-earth feel. Batching also reduces startup and slowdown times between tasks. That's because you're not forcing your brain to jump from one task to another. Finally, the longer you work on a particular task, the more you can get into flow.