Your Fun & Profitable Online Business · Episode 31
Batching Made Simple: Save Time and Get More Done
The problem is not always how much work you have. Sometimes it is how often your brain has to stop, switch modes, and start again. Batching groups similar work so you can stay in one mode long enough to build momentum.
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The cost is in the switching
Batch the brain mode, not just the calendar
Batching works because your brain does less restarting. Instead of moving from writing to designing to scheduling and back again, you stay with one kind of thinking long enough for momentum to build.
Every switch asks your brain to reload context, tools, decisions, and attention.
One mode at a time means less friction between tasks and more energy left afterward.
Batching is not about squeezing more work out of yourself. It is about wasting less energy getting back into the work.
Batching is often described as a productivity hack, but the deeper benefit is reduced friction. Similar tasks use similar tools, similar decisions, and similar kinds of attention. Group them together and you spend less of the day repeatedly finding your place.
Why multitasking feels productive but costs attention
What we call multitasking is usually rapid switching. You answer an email, return to a caption, jump into Canva, check a client message, then try to remember where you were. Each task may be small, but the transitions stack up.
Batching removes some of those transitions. When you write four emails before editing any of them, your brain gets to stay in writing mode. When you edit them together, it stays in editing mode. You are not constantly asking it to change jobs.
The laundry test: if it repeats, it may be batchable
Wendy compares batching to laundry. You probably do not wash one pair of socks every time you wear them. You wait until you have a load because the setup cost makes more sense when the work is grouped.
The same logic can apply to emails, invoicing, social content, podcast production, graphics, scheduling, bookkeeping, and other repeatable business tasks.
Wendy’s seven-step batching system
Identify what repeats
Look for work that happens again and again. Repetition is your first clue that batching may help.
Choose one batching bucket
Start with one category. If you are batching social content, separate writing captions from designing graphics and from scheduling.
Protect a focused block
Give the batch a real appointment on your calendar. Wendy’s personal sweet spot is about 90 minutes, but the right length is the one that fits your attention and energy.
Prep before you start
Gather templates, outlines, brand assets, logins, equipment, water, and anything else you need so the session is not interrupted by scavenger hunts.
Work in cycles
Draft together, then edit together, then format or schedule together. Keep one mental mode active instead of bouncing between stages.
Add themes if they help
You can batch by day, week, or month. The structure is optional. The goal is a repeatable rhythm that works for you.
Track the win
Notice time saved, energy preserved, and how you feel afterward. The useful data is not only how much you produced, but whether the method made work easier.
Batching should create breathing room, not another rule
The trap is turning a helpful system into a rigid one. Wendy shares that she once batched podcast episodes months ahead. It was efficient, but she felt too far removed from what she wanted to talk about in real time. Her solution was not to abandon batching. It was to shorten the horizon and stay one episode ahead.
The system works best when it serves you, not the other way around.
Four batching mistakes to avoid
Efficiency can cost freshness when the work depends on current conversations or changing ideas.
Thirty posts in one sitting may sound efficient and still be a miserable plan. Start smaller.
If calls, email, and urgent-looking tasks can interrupt the session, the batch loses the focus that makes it useful.
Batching should support creativity. You are allowed to change the plan when doing so is an intentional choice.
The real payoff is spaciousness
The best result is not simply more output. It is opening your laptop and knowing the next two weeks of posts are ready, or realizing your newsletters are already drafted, or taking a day off without an unfinished routine task tugging at your attention.
That breathing room is where batching becomes more than a productivity technique. It becomes a way to make the business feel lighter.
Your batching experiment
- Pick one repeatable task you do every week.
- Choose one stage of that work to group together.
- Block a realistic amount of focused time.
- Prep everything you need before the block starts.
- Afterward, notice whether it saved time, energy, or mental effort.
Questions about batching your business tasks
What is batching in business?
Batching means grouping similar tasks and completing them together instead of repeatedly switching between different kinds of work. Examples include writing several emails in one session, creating several graphics together, or processing invoices at one scheduled time.
What should I batch first?
Start with something repeatable that creates a lot of starting and stopping. Email writing, content creation, invoicing, graphics, scheduling, podcast production, and bookkeeping are common places to experiment.
How long should a batching session be?
There is no universal length. Wendy says about 90 minutes works well for her, but a shorter block may be better when you are starting. Test the length and pay attention to your energy, not just how much you finish.
Is batching the same as time blocking?
They overlap, but they are not identical. Time blocking reserves time for work. Batching specifically groups similar work so you can reduce context switching inside that time.
Should I batch an entire month of content at once?
Only if that feels useful and sustainable. Bigger is not automatically better. Start with a week or a few pieces of content, then increase the batch size if the process still feels good and the work stays relevant.
What if batching makes my content feel stale?
Shorten the distance between creation and publication. Wendy stopped recording podcast episodes months ahead and shifted to staying one episode ahead so she could keep the efficiency while preserving freshness.
Does every task need to be batched?
No. Batching is a tool, not a rule. Work that depends on real-time conversation, spontaneous creativity, or changing circumstances may be better handled closer to the moment.
How do I know whether batching is actually helping?
Track more than output. Notice whether the batch saves time, reduces mental switching, leaves you with more energy, and makes the business feel easier to run. Those are meaningful wins too.
Not sure what to batch first?
Use Wendy’s batching ideas list to spot repeatable work you can group together and test in your own business.
Read the full episode transcript
Episode 31 transcript: Batching Made Simple: Save Time and Get More Done
Why batching can reclaim your time
Hey there, and welcome to episode 31 of Your Fun and Profitable Online Business. This is the podcast that helps you grow your business with intention, celebration, and way less stress. I’m Wendy Muzzy, a certified money coach and online business strategist, and I help women entrepreneurs simplify their systems, streamline their offers, and find more joy and create more profit in their business.
Today, we’re digging into batching, one of the simplest and most effective tools you can use to reclaim your time. If you’re tired of feeling like you’re constantly starting and stopping, not getting ahead with your content or your business task, this episode’s for you.
Multitasking is really task switching
Okay, here’s what I know to be true. Multitasking is a myth. I like to pretend I can do it too, like I wanna have 20 things going on at once, but it’s just not workable.
What actually happens when you’re multitasking is your brain is switching back and forth between tasks, and that switching burns energy and time.
I learned this the hard way. Early in my career, I used to treat every single task like its own event. I felt busy all the time and I was busy, but I wasn’t getting traction on the things that really mattered.
Then I discovered batching and it changed everything. When you batch tasks, you group similar tasks together and get them done in one setting. Instead of starting from scratch every time, you start riding a wave of momentum to get things to happen.
And suddenly, you’re not only saving time, you’re creating more ease and less stress.
Now, this matters as entrepreneurs because time is our most valuable resource. When we protect our time, we create more energy and space for the things that actually move our business forward and for living the life that we want outside of our business.
Think of batching like doing laundry
All right, let’s talk about how you can actually put batching into action.
First, I want you to think of batching like doing laundry. Like you don’t wash a pair of socks every time you wear them. At least I hope you don’t. If you do, no judgment. Let’s talk about making your life a little bit simpler.
But let’s say you don’t and you wait till you have a full load and then you run them all at once. That’s way more efficient. And in my opinion, way less annoying.
Business batching is the same. And here’s how to do it step by step.
Step one: identify what’s repeatable
Step one, identify what’s repeatable. Here, you look at your week and you find the tasks that happen over and over. It could be writing emails or creating content or invoicing or even meal prepping. Anything that’s repeatable can be batched.
Step two: choose your batching bucket
Step two, choose your batching bucket. Here, you’re gonna pick one category of tasks to start with. For example, if you’re batching social media content, you’re only gonna write the captions and then you’re only gonna create the graphics and then you’re only going to schedule the post. You’re not going to try to do all three at once.
Here, you want to keep your batch focused and intentional.
Step three: block your time with intention
Step three, block your time with intention. Here, you set aside a dedicated chunk of time and you protect it fiercely. An hour and a half is the sweet spot for me, but you need to test and find out what works for you.
In this space, there’s no client calls, there’s no email checking, there’s just batching.
Now, some people have found using a timer is a helpful visual to help them stay on track. I don’t personally use that anymore, but maybe you need that to start with, no problem.
Step four: prep your tools before you begin
Step four, prep your tools before you begin. Here you wanna have your templates, your brand colors, your outlines, your logins, whatever you need to get your stuff done, you wanna have it there in front of you.
Maybe other tools like a camera or microphone or water or notes, whatever it is, have it close by so you don’t break your flow while you’re chasing down these little details.
Step five: work in cycles
Step five, work in cycles. Inside each batching block, you want to work in many cycles.
For example, draft everything first. You don’t want to edit as you go. And then you write like four rough emails in 30 minutes. Then you can edit everything together.
And this helps because your brain gets into editing mode and moves faster this way. It’s not going back and forth. Draft, edit, draft, edit.
Then you can schedule and format everything together. Whatever it looks like for you, try to keep those similar tasks together for these multiple items you’re doing.
Step six: add themes for consistency
Step six, add themes for consistency. Now, some entrepreneurs batch by days of the week, like maybe Monday is content, Tuesday’s client work, Friday’s finances, whatever it may look like.
Others may batch monthly. Week one is all the emails. Week two is all the podcast episodes.
There’s no right way to do this. I just suggest to people to pick one that feels realistic and repeatable for them and go with it.
I also will tell people consistently, try things, try it out, see how it feels. Test your energy, see how you feel. Don’t just automatically assume that because it works for me, it’s going to work for you. You really need to find your own personal rhythm here.
Step seven: track your wins
Step seven, track your wins. Now here, you want to notice how much time you’re saving, how much energy you’re saving, how you feel at the end of a batching episode or the end of a week that perhaps you would have done 30 things in one week, now you’ve batched them together.
And I want you to celebrate whatever the win is there. Throw that confetti, feel that excitement. This is important because momentum builds when we start to see the proof. So make your brain naturally see the success that you’re experiencing.
Four batching pitfalls to watch for
Now, before you go run off and batch everything, I want to talk about a few pitfalls. Because I know this is powerful, but it’s not perfect for every situation.
Pitfall number one, losing connection with your audience. Here, I’m going to give a personal example. I used to batch my podcast episodes months at a time. And that was really efficient. It was great, actually. But it started to feel like I was too removed from what I was actually talking about week to week.
So I decided I’m going to record one podcast episode a week ahead. This way, I keep the freshness of what’s happening right now in my podcast episodes and my conversations, but I still have enough breathing room not to feel stressed or worried.
Pitfall number two, making the batch too big. Now, if you sit down and tell yourself you’re going to write 30 Instagram posts in one sitting, great, but I think you’re setting yourself up for failure.
I suggest to start small, maybe just batch three posts or one week of content and build from there.
Pitfall number three, not setting boundaries. If you don’t protect your batching block, it will get eaten alive by all those urgent tasks out there. I want you to treat your batching session like a client meeting. It’s a non-negotiable. It’s going to happen.
Pitfall number four, forgetting flexibility. Look, batching should support your creativity, not strangle it. If you’re inspired in a moment, it’s okay to break your cycle. That’s a choice that you’re making for the way you’re feeling, not because of other things that just keep getting added to your plate.
And the system works best when it serves you, not the other way around.
What batching can make possible
I want you to imagine this for a second. Instead of scrambling to post something on Instagram today, you’ve got two weeks of posts already ready, scheduled even.
Or instead of staring at your computer, wondering what you’re going to say in your weekly email, you’ve got three newsletters written and ready.
Suddenly your business feels spacious. You’re ahead. You can even take a day off without guilt because the work is already done.
And this is when your business starts to feel fun again.
Your batching action step
All right, let’s get to your action step. I want you to pick one repeatable task in your business and batch it this week. If you’re already batching, pick a new task to try out. Just one.
Keep it simple, and you’ll start seeing the payoff immediately.
If you’re stumped here, go to wendymuzzy.com/batching to find a list of ideas that can work well for batching.
Keep experimenting with what works for you
And here’s something fun. Next week, we’re talking about how to prepare for a co-working session. If you’ve ever joined one and thought, well, that was nice, but I didn’t actually get anything finished. This episode will be for you.
I’ll share exactly how to set up those sessions so they become your most productive of the week. And I have some funny, but not so funny experiences to share.
All right, that’s all for today. As always, I invite you to leave a quick review for this podcast. It helps women find simple, joyful strategies.
And please share this episode with a friend who’s always too busy, because trust me, they’ll thank you.
Until next time, happy batching!