Batching for productivity

Hi friends,

This note was sent out on Sunday 29th January, whilst I was asleep in Dubai. It was actually drafted on the 24th whilst on a plane to Dublin, along with the following week's edition.

They've been written in advance because I'm travelling a lot presently and can't guarantee my usual slot to type them up, but it's forced me to do something which I've wanted to do since the inception of this newsletter - batching the production of multiple editions.

Batching is the process of grouping similar tasks and doing them together, instead of switching between different tasks. A key intended outcome is improved productivity.

Batching benefits

Some of the key benefits I see from batching are:

1. Efficiency: time is lost when we switch between tasks as our minds need to process the new task set and change focus. This cognitive switching cost is also mirrored in physical tasks, e.g. batch cooking multiple meals reduces overall set up and washing up time.

2. Focus: sometimes it can take us a while to get into the flow of an activity. By making the most of these periods when we get into the zone (the 'flow' state) we can increase our overall productivity by increasing output for the same input time.

3. Habits: batching requires forward planning, which can help with adherence to good habits. E.g. batch cooking can save time, but more importantly make it easier to stick to a particular diet as meals will be planned out in advance.

4. Flexibility: completing tasks ahead of schedule gives you slack which can be very valuable in sustaining busy schedules. For time critical tasks (like getting this edition of Plane Thoughts out as scheduled), batch production reduces the risk of missing publication if I can't write on a planned day, or if I simply don't want to for whatever reason.

5. Inertia: there are some tasks that we just don't want to do, and even if they're small ones, they can then play on our mind. I find that batching together tasks I'm not particularly excited about (typically life admin), I force myself to clear them all in one go.

Implementation idea

Consider which tasks in your daily life you could batch together for the benefits listed above. 

For many people switching between a range of different tasks regularly may provide a nice break from monotony, but working through that can potentially provide tangible output improvements when using a batching schedule.

Best, Alex Joshi.

On my bedside table:

• Podcast: The Tim Ferriss show - Dr Mathew Walker on all things sleep (link)

• Podcast: Love, Janessa - 7-part true crime series exploring online catfishing (link)

And finally, if you're enjoying this content and know people that would get value from this newsletter, please share it. Thank you!