That moment when you sit down to create, but first you need to check your email, respond to that DM, edit yesterday’s work, plan tomorrow and somehow find time to actually make your art. (😭!!!)
If you’re feeling scattered and stretched thin trying to do it all, you’re not alone.
As artists, we pour our hearts into our craft while juggling the practical side as a creative entrepreneur.
But there is a way to preserve your creative energy while still getting everything done — through task batching.
Understanding Task Batching for Artists
Task batching isn’t about rigid schedules or sacrificing spontaneity, even if it sounds like that. Instead, it’s all about intentionality. Specifically, for different types of creative energy to flow.
Some studies have shown that it takes up to 9.5 minutes to totally switch tasks, but I’ve also read that it takes up to 20 minutes. That means every time you go from checking an email to working on your art to prepping lunch to taking a phone break, it’s actually taking you around 10 minutes to totally switch your attention.
What is Task Batching? (And Why Creatives Need It)
At its heart, task batching is simply grouping similar tasks together and dedicating focused time to complete them.
The time-blocking techniques within task-batching (which we’ll talk about later) helps you go deeper by grouping similar activities to maintain creative momentum.
For example, if you’re a content creator, instead of jumping between writing, editing, and social media throughout the day, you might spend one day writing content. Then, the next day, you’re working on editing. And a separate day, you can focus on publishing or scheduling content.
This approach is particularly powerful for artists and creatives because our creative minds thrive on deep focus and flow.
🪐 Related: How to Build a Sustainable Morning Routine *For Creatives*
The Cost of Context Switching on Creativity
Every time you switch from one type of task to another, your brain needs time to adjust – like a camera lens refocusing. This constant refocusing drains your creative energy more quickly than you might realize.
Productivity grouping through task batching helps minimize these costly mental transitions.
Think about the last time you were in a beautiful state of flow while creating, only to be interrupted by an email notification! Even if you quickly returned to your art, that magical creative momentum was probably harder to recapture — even if you can’t consciously feel it.
This is context switching at work, and it’s one of the biggest energy thieves in an artist’s day.
How Batching Preserves Creative Energy
When you batch similar tasks together, you’re working with your brain’s natural tendencies instead of against them.
You’re creating a sacred container for each type of work; when you’re in your creative zone, you stay there, and when you’re handling business tasks, you give them your full attention.
You can be totally in-tune, in-flow, and intentional with what you’re doing, without the feeling of having to do multiple different tasks at once.
This preservation of energy means that when you sit down to create, you’re bringing your full artistic power to the canvas, microphone, or whatever your medium may be.
| I noticed this when I worked my Cozy Girl Job. There were multiple tasks I had to do — write blog posts, do keyword research, email clients, etc. So, I would make dedicated days for each — one day for just planning the blog articles. Then another day for just writing the blog articles. Then another just for writing emails and communicating with clients. Soon, I was able to start working part-time hours but still getting paid that same full-time income — all because of task batching. |
Types of Creative Tasks to Batch
Efficiency scheduling through task batching helps you maximize your creative energy across different types of work. Let’s explore the different types of tasks you can batch, making space for both the practical and ✨ magical ✨ aspects of your creative business.
Administrative Task Batching
Yes, even the “boring” tasks can feel magical when approached with intention!
There are a few ways you can do this, depending on the types of (and amount of) admin tasks you have —
⏰ Dedicate 15-30 mins in the morning and in the late afternoon for emails — and not checking them in between!
📆 Theme your days — planning Mondays, filming Tuesdays, writing Wednesdays, etc. These can be the same each week or can be different based on your needs!
🌞 Plan your day before you get started, planning it hour by hour. Either before you to go sleep or right after you wake up, look at your day and lay out what your goals are and things you “must” get done
Creative Process Batching
Even your core artistic work can benefit from thoughtful batching.
Think about your creation process from start to finish. I’m not saying to take the magic of creativity out of it — that’s definitely not what we want! I know if I feel a song in my heart, I will start writing and writing and ditch any systems or process.
This isn’t about restricting your creativity at all – it’s about creating containers that allow it to flow more freely. When inspiration strikes outside your planned time, honor it! The goal is to support your natural creative rhythm, not confine it.
So for example, if I have a backlog of a lot of songs and want to start recording them, then making a plan of batch recording drums, recording vocals, mixing, etc. is a much more efficient way than doing it one-by-one (especially if it’s all on the same record 😉).
🫶 Related: The Creative’s Guide to an Abundance Mindset
Content Creation
If you’re a creative who does content creation (i.e. social media, YouTube, blogging, etc.), task batching will definitely help you!
Specifically for content creation, there are so many different tasks to do, so I recommend batching together similar actions. For example, film multiple videos. Write multiple blog posts. Plan 2 weeks worth of social media posts instead of just 1.
This might mean you need to ebb and flow your work with your energy levels throughout the week.
⚡️ When your energy is feeling high, you can film and record multiple pieces of content so you have the space clean and set up and so your interpersonal skills are feeling open.
✍️ When you need cozy working days, you can write blog posts or scripts without being on-camera.
💡 When you’re feeling strategic and creative, you can schedule your meetings on one day so you can have one day centered on collaborating with others and not in and out of them all day.
Creating Your Batching Schedule
Finding Your Peak Creative Hours
We each have our own natural rhythms – those golden hours when our creativity flows most freely. While focused work periods are essential for task batching, leaving room for inspiration ensures your creative spirit stays alive.
So while I’d love to tell you the ✨perfect times ✨ to work, it’s not going to be the same for you! I tend to love working early in the morning and in the afternoon before that 3pm slump — but for STATiC, he doesn’t usually start feeling creative until after 5pm.
Track your energy levels and creative output for a week or two. Notice patterns in when you feel most focused, inspired, or productive with different types of tasks.
Then, design your batching schedule around these natural rhythms. 💫
Designing Theme Days
To further enhance your focus throughout the week, think of each day as having its own special energy.
Maybe Mondays are for planning and admin work, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for deep creative work, Thursdays for content creation, and Fridays for community engagement and reflection. This can change throughout the weeks — this is why we love creating our own schedule! These aren’t rigid rules, but guidelines to help you flow through your week with more ease and intention.
If inspiration strikes on an “admin day,” maybe you can give yourself that permission to follow that creative spark.
Building Buffer Time
Please please please don’t book things one after the other. Not only is it not realistic, but it will make you feel like you’re late for everything and never able to catch up.
Let’s give ourselves the best chance for success and not set unrealistic expectations on ourselves — k? 🫶
Ritualize Your Task Batching
Light a candle when you begin your writing sessions. Play specific music for different types of work. Create little ceremonies that signal to your mind and soul that it’s time to focus on a particular type of creation.
If I feel like my eyes are glazed over because I can’t get myself to get in the zone, I usually try to set up a ritual to help me make the practice (even the practice of working) more intentional.
Eventually, these rituals become anchors that help you transition between different types of tasks while maintaining your creative energy. It also helps you actually romanticize work, even work you don’t particularly love.
Get Intentionally Productive With Me
As you practice task batching, you’ll likely notice something magical happening in your artistic journey – entering flow states becomes easier. When you’re not constantly switching contexts, your mind can settle into deeper levels of focus and creativity.
This is the true gift of task batching for artists – it creates space for both productivity and profound creative expression. It’s not about doing more; it’s about creating with more presence and purpose.
Transform your creative process — join our community of artists who are learning to work smarter, not harder. Subscribe on YouTube for tips on bringing more magic to your creative business. Together, we’re creating lives that honor both our artistic spirits and our practical needs. ✨
