How Batching Mom Tasks Can be the Fuel You Need for an Incredible New Year

Ahhh January… a month of clean slates, de-cluttering from the holidays, and focusing on goals for the new year.  Now is the perfect time to set up some systems to be more productive and efficient so we can squeeze more goodness out of life! This past week I noticed a few things I batched together, and it felt SO GOOD. So, let’s chat about batching mom tasks and see if we can squeeze out more goodness for you too!

Most of us are aware that “batching tasks” is a good way to be efficient. Batching, meaning: taking something you’re already doing, and do more of it at that same time. Why is this helpful? Because when our brain starts on a task, it’s primed and ready to continue. When we switch to something new… our brain needs time to stop, recalculate, figure out how to do the next thing, prime for the task, start, and NOW the brain is ready to continue doing what it’s doing. This is precisely what makes being a mom to young kids so frustrating at times!!! You can’t complete a thought in your own head before something new needs your attention.

We all naturally try to batch things together because… it makes sense and we’re more productive moms. Here’s what task batching looked like at my house this week:

Tuesday:

1. I’m migrating to a “capsule wardrobe” so that it will take less effort for me to get ready for the day, feeling confident.  So- I used some “Christmas gift money” and put some thought into what kind of clothes would be my “staple items” that I’m happy to wear multiple times in a week. SheIn.com has served me well, so I ordered as much clothing as I thought I would love wearing over and over- even if I wore it just a couple days ago. I took the time to measure my existing clothes and compare them to the measurements listed online to ensure each item should fit like I want it to. WHILE I was doing that… I decided to take care of my sister-in-laws birthday gift, and order clothes that I hope she’ll enjoy wearing. It is exciting thinking about how getting ready in the morning will be easier for both of us to just grab one of the favorite shirts (that are long enough to “mom” in…) a pair of pants (that fit well so we can move quick!) and we’ll be set for a while! I recorded all my measurements in my phone’s memo app so that I can refer to it next time I am ready to buy some clothes! **Update: I do love how specific MOST of the clothing measurements were with Shein, but I there were a couple that gave a range of measurement- and those are WAY too small! Shein is ordering direct from China, we have to remember to carefully read the measurements, and that it’s probably going to be on the VERY small end of the spectrum we’d guess.
2. I cleaned out a couple of neglected junk spots. Once I was in the mode of putting things back where they go, it was easier to just do it all!

Wednesday:

1. Laundry day: This is my regular jam 🙂 Once I have a few loads washed and dried, I turn on a podcast (or ted talk or audio book) and my brain doesn’t even need to think about the folding!
2. I planned out the menu for the week. Once you’ve started to sift through items in the fridge, might as well keep going and figure out what sounds doable to make for the whole week. WRITE THEM DOWN and post them somewhere you can easily see them. The goal is less work on your brain!

Thursday:

1. I ran all the errands I could think of. Bank, donation drop off, groceries, carwash, came in and visited the friend that offered to watch my crazy four year-old!
2. I tried to get all the photos together I’d need for this post 🙂

Let’s talk about some other ways to make batching a part of your life:

• My area offers meal prep classes where you show up to a Lin’s grocery store, and you pay an affordable rate to prepare a dozen or so healthy dinners at a time. I’m so excited to get a group of friends together to batch visiting and meal prepping together on a big scale. Bonus: the company does one big batch of clean-up for you!

I love to keep a batch of cut veggies in the fridge. We make this perfect stir fry recipe a few times a month: Healthy and delicious dinner is ready to eat in eight minutes!

Designate theme days to your tasks you need to do throughout the week.

This is the system that I’ve loved using for the last five or so years:

• • Monday: Catch up day and meal-planning.
  • Tuesday: Filing (papers and digital) mail, payments, emails, records.
  • Wednesday: Laundry.
  • Thursday: Floors.
  • Friday: Bathrooms.
• Batching errands saves gas, a ton of time, and loading kids up. Use a great planner to get good at this!
• Prepare the weeks worth of lunches in one swoop. Mason jar salads, anyone?
• Create morning or evening routines that become automatic : pray, read, meditate. 
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• Last, one of my favorite things I’ve learned recently is to batch tasks according to energy level.
  • Feeling lazy? Do your grocery shopping online. Respond to texts and emails. Sit down and plan.
  • Feeling energized? Clean, girl, CLEAN IT ALL! Tackle the errands! Start on a new project.