Task Clusters

You've probably heard it said that you should have a morning and evening routine...a set list of tasks you do each morning and evening to keep your life organized, your home clean, etc. (For those familiar with www.flylady.net you know she advocates this.) This is a good idea, but let me suggest taking it a bit further to something I call "task clusters."

There are probably tasks that you do routinely that have similarities to them, like this picture of seashells. They are different, but similar. If you cluster similar tasks together, you get the additional benefit of reducing your "mental clutter." (I have a friend who has great thoughts about keeping your mind free of clutter and I'm stealing this concept from her. :) Keeping your mind from becoming scattered can go a long way toward more effective time management.

Perhaps the best way to explain a "task cluster" is to give an example from my own life. Each morning, I need to feed the cat, feed myself, possibly pack a lunch, and if I'm doing well, think about lunch and/or dinner plans for the family. I have somewhat of a routine in that most of those things take place in the kitchen and I can do them one after the other or even concurrently.  While I drink my morning breakfast shake, I can empty the dishwasher (also related to eating) and then I can finish up by packing lunch if necessary for the day. Do you see what has happened? All the tasks of the 5-15 minutes this can take are related to feeding/eating. By clustering tasks together that have a common theme, I'm more focused and can knock these off my to-do list quickly.

We lose time and mental peace when we bounce from one thing to another. (I'm great at that.) But when we cluster similar tasks together, we can be more effective and less scattered. So, now it's your turn. Share a cluster of tasks with a related theme that you could put together to keep yourself more focused. Let me hear from you!

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