Previous Lessons
- Lesson 1: The Big Five: Creating a Workable To-Do List
- Lesson 2: Interruptions
- Lesson 3: Scheduling
- Lesson 4: Ideal Time vs. Idealized Time
- Lesson 5: Eliminating Clutter
- Lesson 6: Ordering Clutter
- Lesson 7: Sabbath Basics
- Lesson 8: Eliminating Irritants
- Lesson 9: Goal Setting Basics
- Lesson 10: Evaluating the Day
- Lesson 11: How to Say “NO!”
Batch Processing
Welcome to lesson 12 on batch processing. You are going to learn how to consolidating processing tasks that occur frequently. Doing so will limit wasted time and enhance productivity dramatically. In the video I mostly talk about examples from my home life, but batch processing can be apply to nearly anything repetitive at home or work. After creating this lesson I ran into a great article on batch processing by one of my favorite bloggers, Darren Rowse. Darren runs a couple of blogs and produces an astounding amount of work. His article, How Batch Processing Made Me 10 Times More Productive, will give you another perspective on batch processing from more of a business view. Click here to read his article.I have also included a link to one of my previous blog posts on freezer cooking which is essentially batch cooking. It is an awesome example of batch processing applied to a rather mundane chore. The article is loaded with 10 tips for freezer cooking, 5 ways you save time and money, plus 3 hidden benefits of freezer cooking.
Even if you don’t cook I highly recommend you read the article just to more deeply educate yourself on what batch processing can look like. Here is the link, My Freezer Cooking Article–Redeeming Valuable Time and Money to Enjoy More of God and Life
Streaming Audio
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Resource Links for Downloading
- Video
- Audio MP3
- Transcript PDF
- How Batch Processing Made Me 10 Times More Productive
- My Freezer Cooking Article–Redeeming Valuable Time and Money to Enjoy More of God and Life
Tasks
- Make a list of simple tasks that you have to repeat frequently. Pick 2 or 3 of these tasks and come up with a strategy for batch processing each one of them.
- Make another list of five non-perishable items that you commonly purchase. Next time you shop, buy 5 times your normal purchase of these items. This could be as simple as buying 5 cans of a soup of a particular soup you like or 5 bottles of shampoo, 5 bottles of cleaner, etc. You may want to go big and purchase a case of something.
- Bonus tip: When my kid’s were younger I sometimes found myself scrambling to come up with a birthday card and a gift at the last minute for the frequent birthday parties they were invited to. Then one day I had the brilliant idea of batching it. I bought a stack of kid’s birthday cards and a stack of gift cards from our favorite book store. I kept these on hand and it saved me countless stressful last minute dashes to find a present on the way to a party.
Accessing the Lessons
You may choose to watch these videos by streaming live from the web, downloading the MP3s to your computer or MP3 player, or by reading the text transcript.
To get the most out of these lessons focus on taking action every day, no matter how small that action may be. Small actions add up more rapidly than you may realize. Much of the battle of time management, conquering clutter and getting organized is purely a matter of consistency.
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