Business Insight Zone

This one’s simple:

Not only should you do one THING at a time,
you should do one TYPE of thing at a time.

Dan Markovitz explains it in manufacturing terms when he compares human minds to “monument machines”:

Batching is not (necessarily) a dirty word.

The big advantage of batch processing: no neurological “context switching,” ergo less wasted time getting up to speed as you tackle each task. For more on this concept, check out two great posts that I’ve pointed to before:

• Kathy Sierra (2006) — Multitasking makes us stupid?
• Joel Spolsky (2001) — Human Task Switches Considered Harmful

For a first-person account of the practical benefits of batch processing, check out this post from Darren Rowse, whose prolific quality on ProBlogger and his other blogs proves he knows whereof he speaks when it comes to productivity:

How Batch Processing Made Me 10 Times More Productive

Reading these posts made me feel even better about the advice I gave to my daughter a while back when she was confronted with the classic overwhelming project of kids everywhere, cleaning her room:

1. Group like with like.
2. Handle one thing at a time.

This advice is simple as can be, but how many of really do it amid the rapid fire of e-mails, phone calls, and the other interruptions of today’s workplace?

Try it for yourself — especially by handing your Internet browsing in batches — and tell me what you think.

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Photo by marvinxsteadfast.

Category: Productivity