Get it Together Do it Together

Are you overwhelmed?  Most people are.  There is so much to do and such little time.  Therefore, you need to utilize that statement - get lots done in a little bit of time.  How do you do that?  Grouping! Batching!

When you group items together and do them all at the same time, you can get more of them done in less time than doing them at individual intervals.  Think about this - some of the tasks you need to do will require materials, software, access codes, etc. and if you are constantly having to gather them, do the task and put them away, that all takes time.  If you group your items together and cut down the number of times you have to pull out and put away the materials; access the software and wait for it to load and wait for it to shut down; and enter and re-enter your access codes, you will save time and be more accurate.

What can you group or batch together?  Paying bills - do it once or twice a month.  It takes some planning and organizing, but the time you take on the front end to set up the systems will save you hours on the back end from not processing multiple times.  Opening your mail - do it once or twice a week and have a recycle bin handy.  Doing your follow ups to prospects - pick a time once a week or a couple of times per month (depending on your business) to do and record the follow ups.  Handling your email - open it twice or three times per day - work it, file it and close it.

Rather than treating every task as an individual item - look for ways you can batch things together.  You may need to set up physical folders to group your items and save them until it is time to work them.  Then work them and finish them.  The less you have to touch processes, the more processing you can get done.