My favorite thing about the Honor Circle is watching my friends apply what they learn in ways that work for them, and then share it with the rest of us. Our girl Susan from Growing A Content Heart came up with a system for batching her tasks that may work for you too! Here is Susan to explain how it works!
I’m calling the system for task batching I’ve come up with the “Assembly Line” Mentality, except that I am the only one working my assembly line.
On an assembly line, one person doesn’t construct an entire product, start to finish. Each worker has a repetitive task as the product comes their way. Work faster, get more done… you get it.
I’ve been using this method for my blogging tasks. For example, I will spend a day or two (30-60 minutes/day) writing the copy I need for posts in my Bible reading group for the next 2 months. I write it in the description of an event on Google Calendar on the day I want it to happen. This leaves me with a visual of what I have ready to go.
The assembly line shifts down, and I spend another day or two focused on creating the graphics or printables for all those posts.
Then another day I actually schedule them to post when I want to. So, less than a week’s work to prep and schedule everything I need to happen in my group for the next 2 months. Boom. Autopilot.
Tweet ThisBefore any of this could happen, a few other important things had to be in place. Here are my tips:
1. PLAN AHEAD
Like, months ahead. I’ll say it again, for those in the back. PLAN AHEAD.
I couldn’t write 2 months of Facebook group posts in a couple hours, if I don’t have a plan for what we’ll be reading and doing together. The plan is there. I’m just fleshing it out.
The Good, Better, Best goals we learn in the Honor Circle are a great place to start. Christa is giving us some amazing tools in this group!! You can plan farther (I’ve planned six months out on a general level) but try for at least 12 weeks.
2. REFINE YOUR BRAND
By this, I mean, all the details that make your stuff yours. Decisions you can make once, then you don’t take up time thinking about it every time you create something. Things like fonts, colors, how your printables will look, etc.
Since I know my fonts, my colors, my personal style, I can make quick edits on just a few graphics to create what I need for 2 whole months in about an hour. Don’t reinvent the wheel!
3. USE SCHEDULING TOOLS
If you admin a Facebook page or group, you know that Facebook has their own scheduling tool. I don’t know if there’s a limit, but I have scheduled up to 40 posts at a time! Once I have the posts written and the graphics created, it’s copy, paste, add photo, schedule, repeat!
There are several social media scheduling tools out there. Hootsuite, Buffer and Tailwind all have free versions of their tools.
You can also schedule your WordPress blog posts for the future instead of posting immediately.
These tips will streamline your processes for batching tasks and move you forward.
Susan Haines is a Bible-studying, blogging wife and mom. She is passionate about creating simple Bible routines in the middle of mom life. Connect with Susan on her blog or on her Facebook Page.
I love that Susan has maximized the use of free tools like Google Calendar and native features of Facebook. She’s proof that you don’t need to invest in expensive, fancy software to fashion a system that works for you. Way to go, Susan! I’m proud of you!
RESOURCES
If you want to see results like Susan in a community focused on progress and accountability, join us for the Honor Circle.
NEW RESOURCE
NEW RESOURCEIn the Build A Better Week E-book, you’ll receive:
- A devotion to explore the Biblical mindsets on planning
- Step by step instructions to create a better week than you had last week.
- Three worksheets to manage your to-do list, your weekly plan and a weekly review
- Tips for managing the unexpected that threatens to de-rail your week
- Video instructions on using a Trello board to manage it all and a Trello template to create your own
Join the Build A Better Week Challenge and learn how to plan for the things that really matter.
2 thoughts on “The Assembly Line Method to Task Batching”
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Love it! An assembly line works wonders. Batch and repeat.
And now that I just started a new Facebook group I’ll be applying a lot of Susan’s advice.
I am starting to do better at this, but it is definitely a work in progress! I’m getting there though bit by bit. Love the ideas you brought up here, I just have to figure out how to make them feasible for me.