Is Batch Processing The New Way To GTD?
I was interested to read Darren Rowse of Problogger discussing his blog posting techniques and that he batch processes them for maximum productivity. I thought about that for a while and it made complete sense! I had a sort of “Doh!” moment I guess! I already work in a sort of “batch” type of way. Each section of a project is worked on until complete. My email is worked through in one sitting so I thought I’d try it with blogging.
I was interested to read Darren Rowse of Problogger discussing his blog posting techniques and that he batch processes them for maximum productivity.
I thought about that for a while and it made complete sense! I had a sort of “Doh!” moment I guess!
I already work in a sort of “batch” type of way. Each section of a project is worked on until complete. My email is worked through in one sitting so I thought I’d try it with blogging.
The result? Well, you may have noticed there’s been an increase in the number of posts recently – and that they’re more regular. Well, apart from the week and a bit I had off on holiday!
So, how does it work? I get ideas for posts all of the time so I’ll sit down one afternoon and go through them, pick the best three or four and write them all in one go. Simple as that!
Instead of procrastinating, I’m now thinking “I’m doing it anyway, so I may as well carry on!”
Try it – batch your email, batch your phone calls. It really works.
I guess in GTD terms, you could think of a batch as your contexts. David Allen says that we should work on items in the context we’re in and that we have energy for and that’s also true when batching actions/items.
There’s a real sense of productivity, motivation and pride as you storm through a list of things that you have before you and it’s certainly made me get off my backside and Get Things Done!
What are your thoughts? Is it a waste of time? Should we move onto other things that need our attention or stick with batching until everything’s done? Let us know in the comments or contact me.
- Follow Katy Whitton on:
“Ross – Glad to hear it’s working for you to! I’ve get to really get to apply it in full at work as I’m waiting for a suitable big project to start so we’ll have to see how I get on.Robert – I’ve not read that yet but have been planning on checking it out – definately will now, thanks!“
“I’m a big fan of batching contexts. Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to make one 3-minute phone call, but if I know I’m going to be calling 3-4 people in a row, I’ll just roll through ’em and get all of those next actions taken care of. Similarly, when I get into “”review document”” mode, I can burn through multiple docs in a row. I’m sitting at my computer and some of the next actions may not be top priority, but batching them together means I get more accomplished without having to switch gears every 20 minutes.”
“Have you read Mark Forster’s “”Do It Tomorrow””? He specifically recommends batching as a way to improve productivity.”