Group Your Work

Have more energy, perform better, and feel fulfilled

It's Monday. You have a curated todo list that you put together on Friday before logging off. You sit at your computer and start digging into your work. First you start with emails, messages, comments in docs, then you get into the real work. But now there is a meeting, 50 more emails, and new tasks added to your list, due today.

Whether you work in an office, remotely, or freelance—you've been here. Likely more than you'd like to admit. Maybe this is your norm and you do not know any other way. There is a simple trick you can follow that will unlock focus and limit stress. Just group your work.

Is it needed?

If everything is a priority, then nothing is.

Before grouping your work, you need to ask yourself if this work is needed to begin with. Maybe it is needed, but is it needed now? I say this all the time, I've likely mentioned it here too: if everything is a priority, then nothing is. This statement is not only an undeniable fact, these words tend to make people stop and think.

Before you reply to that next message, email, or high-priority task, ask if it is actually high-priority or if it is needed at all.

Group like work

This might seem obvious, but we all get trapped in the self-perpetuating, shallow work trap. I have written about blocking time on your calendar and how context switching kills productivity, but this is a bit different. When planning and doing your work, simply group like work.

• Put your meetings back to back, with slight breaks.

• Only action your emails and messages at set times. I recommend the afternoon and before logging off for the day. You can review them in the morning or peek at them throughout the day, but do not action them unless it is truly needed.

• Keep deep work together. Being in a state of focus is hard to get into, staying in it is not. It's called a "flow state" for a reason. Just be wary of burning yourself out. Try to limit these, to at most, half your work day.

Context Switching

Do not context switch. It is not helpful to anyone. Remember that most things are not high-priority, even if others think differently.

An easy way to prevent this is to limit the lure to context switch. Turn off all unnecessary notifications. Both on your computer and your phone. You should never receive push notifications for emails.

I also recommend rewriting your daily todos (preferably by hand) and keep them front and center, so you do not get off track. Yes, you can use your todo app or project tool, but taking the time to rewrite them and intentionally place them somewhere, on screen or on desk, makes your brain focus on them. When rewriting them, you can also ask if it is still important. You might end up pruning some work in the process.

You might be thinking that this is not possible at your job. Your boss or coworkers are expecting you to do things now. I get it. I used to be in this situation. If you do this gradually, and not obviously, you can pull it off. Start with the daily list. Slowly start responding less frequently to notifications. Start blocking your calendar, little by little, so others need to comply to your deep work times. Over a period of a few weeks to months, you might have a schedule that works for you, rather than you working for it. You might even have more energy throughout your day, perform better, and feel more fulfilled about your work.