3 Ways to Batch Tasks Like Nature Does
Nature is a master of efficiency and batching is her superpower
I was prepping my weekly batch of breakfast burritos when the following question hit me:
“Does nature batch work to increase effiecency too?”
It didn’t take long to find superb examples of how nature utilizes batching:
Mass bird migrations fly in a V-formation to reduce air drag. Bears batch their salmon intake when abundant, and batch rest through winter. Honeybees and ants batch the work in their kingdoms, with different bees/ants tasked with various duties.
Observing nature and asking questions can teach us valuable lessons on how to work effectively.
Here are some important lessons I learned:
Understand Your Natural Cycles
We, just like nature, go through cycles.
On the micro level, our most crucial cycle is our circadian rhythms.
In short, this internal 24-hour clock regulates our biology, from alertness to sleepiness, by responding to light changes in our environment.
According to this biological clock, we are most alert at 10 am and most physically powerful and strong at 5 pm, and by 10:30 pm, our stomach activity is reduced.
I’ve tried exercising in the morning and writing at night, but it never felt right. Everything was noticeably easier as soon as I began writing in the morning, going to the gym in the early evening, and not eating past 10:00 pm.
Efficiency Through Specialization
Entrepreneurship is a job of 3 people:
- A Technician
- A Manager
- A Visionary
In the beginning, we all play all three of them.
Our Visionary wants to build online and play long-term games. Our Manager plans our days and schedules our content. Our Technician writes in the morning and gets things done.
I highly recommend reading the “E-Myth Revisited” for better insight into this wonderful concept.
Simply put, we work best when these three personalities work in harmony.
Without the Visionary, it becomes impossible to grow meaningfully: She prepares us for scaling and dealing with new challenges creatively.
The Manager’s superpower is his ability to make the Technician’s life easier. She optimizes for flow states and outlines articles, for example.
The Technician, on the other hand, wants one thing: Mastery. He wants to hone his craft and perfect his techniques. If it isn’t practical, he isn’t interested.
Allocating time for each to do their job independently of each other allows us to work with the flow of nature and not get overwhelmed by the challenges ahead.
Adaptive Batching
When in doubt, switch up!
In writing, there are multiple types of work. There is drafting, editing, brainstorming, and research. The goal is to do more than 1 unit of the task that we are doing because it costs less mental power to maintain a mindset than to start another.
In the mood for writing? Draft a couple of ideas. Are you feeling stuck? Research on a few topics. Not in the mood for any of these things? Sit and edit for 2 hours.
Adaptive batching is about self-awareness. It’s much easier to go with the flow than to create one. Listen to your state of mind and adapt the tasks accordingly.
Do what feels most accessible now and ensure you produce more than 1 unit of it.
Takeaway
I’ve been as$less for a long time.
I worked my way up from 40kg to 50kg. Then I went from 50 kg to 60 kg, and now I am sitting on 70kg after years of on-and-off training. The only thing that truly saved my as$ (literally) is batching my meals.
I cook 8 portions of food in roughly the same amount of time it takes me to cook 4 portions.
I take one of the two days off from work to cook for the week, break up the job into different tasks (sourcing, planning, and cooking), and leave the timing of the action to what I have the energy for.
Same goes for writing, drafting 2 pieces is much easier than coming up with an idea, then writing about it and editing it.
Now, I abide by nature’s laws and write exclusively in the morning when I am most awake, exercise by the afternoon when I am most active, and edit when I find the time.
Remember, if nothing works and you don’t feel like doing anything, you can always listen to your favorite book and chalk it up as research :)
