30 Days to a More Organized Life, Day 26: Boxes for Batching
A key to getting more work done is batch processing – grouping similar tasks together and doing them all at once. Just as having lists for ‘errands’ or ‘home’ makes it easier to do those tasks in groups, you can achieve the same thing for the physical objects in your life using boxes.
What kind of object can benefit from batch processing? Take a look at this photograph from The Red Chair Blog:
During your home walkthrough yesterday, you may have come across a number of things that you thought could be donated to the local charity shop. Did you do anything about that? Probably not. Why? Because going down to the shop with your single, old sweater seems like a waste of time. Which it is!
Instead, if you have a dedicated ‘donate’ box in your home, you can throw the sweater in there. Then, when the box is full, it’s a much better use of your time to go to the charity shop. If you set up a box for things to donate, you don’t always have to think: ‘gee, I want to donate that article of clothing’ every time you open your closet. These items no longer drag on your mind because you’ve put them where they belong.
The same goes for gifts, things to fix, or any other things in your home that require some action. Make a box for them so they have a place to live.
This trick also works well on the job. If you constantly pass papers back-and-forth to another co-worker, make a folder or box for that person. This way you don’t interrupt yourself (and them) every time a piece of paper for them comes up.
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Header photograph by: Photo Denbow
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