[![Thumbnail](https://images.dlive.io/87b320a7-90f4-11e8-ba94-0242ac110002)](https://dlive.io/video/coruscate/f2f7f830-90f3-11e8-b2de-f7be8f055a16)

Hi Friends!

 

Lately I’ve been evaluating my approach to work/life to see if I can find ways to be more efficient. I’m sure most of you can relate to this idea of never feeling like there is enough time in the day. That’s why I think looking for ways to make things more streamlined and efficient can go a really long way.

 

When it comes to approaching work – I have found there are two main schools of thought.

 

## <center>Batching Your Work</center>

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This basically means that you set aside time to do a bunch of the same task all together. For example, you may set aside an hour to reply to emails (or steemit comments!) and then shut down your email, and spend an hour working on a project you’d like to tackle today.

 

The key there was *shutting off your email*, or phone, or however you get notifications. This way, you are treating the time you set aside to work on that project as sacred, and won’t be getting constantly distracted.

 

I like doing this because I can get in a good roll with each separate thing I do, and I feel more in control of my day. Instead of saying, “I hope I can get to this project – but we’ll see how the day goes”, I am being very intentional about setting time aside.

 

## <center>Immediate Processing</center>

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In this school of thought, they basically say that any task you have – no matter how big or small – is a mental burden. If there is something that will take less than a minute to complete – just DO it, get it off your brain and move on.

 

I think this can be super valuable too and it probably depends on your personality type. I just find that constantly getting pulled away from something – even for a quick reply – can sometimes be distracting. That being said, just taking care of things in the moment feels really good too.

 

## <center>Which is More Efficient?</center>

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I’m honestly torn on what I like better because I think there is a lot of value in both schools of thought. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a clean line between them either. Figure out what balance of things works best for you and your personality and then rock that.

 

Being aware of this difference in communication/work styles can be really important in business partnerships or employement situations. For example, even though I’ve been trying to batch my work more often – I *know* that my boss is all about the quick responses. How do I know this? Because pretty much every time I send him an email – I have a response two minutes later. This has led me to intentionally keep an eye out for emails from my boss – and prioritize a quick response. Even though he’s never verbalized that he likes that, I know it makes me stand out in his mind because it is something he values.

 

Here’s one more thought for you – I actually feel *better* about sending messages to someone that I know batches their work – because I know it won’t pull them away from the moment. If I know someone will simply respond to me when it is a good time for them, I don’t feel bad about sending 4 emails in a row etc.

 

## <center>What Are Your Thoughts?</center>

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I hope you guys enjoyed hearing some of my thoughts on different approaches to working productively. I’d really love to hear from you guys on how you approach your work and if you try to batch or process immediately. I’m really hoping to spark some conversation in the comments and maybe we can all learn from each other! If you have any other awesome productivity hacks too – I’d love to hear them.

 

<center>Talk soon!</center>

<center>Lea</center>
<center>![21D684CB-CA72-4207-9485-43D5D4994863.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNiBWun2cXau4Go39DnFtBDGDKokCu4nDBx6qZS32kDKy/21D684CB-CA72-4207-9485-43D5D4994863.gif)</center>

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<center>https://youtu.be/Jh6oai_UvPM</center>
<center>*Here is a YouTube link for anyone who needs it.*</center>

My video is at [DLive](https://dlive.io/video/coruscate/f2f7f830-90f3-11e8-b2de-f7be8f055a16)