Batching vs Doing as You Go: How to Stop Letting Small Tasks Pile Up

Have you ever found yourself letting certain tasks pile up until they become borderline unmanageable? If you’ve ever scrambled to fill in timesheets at the very last minute or ended up with a massive collection of unread newsletters, you know exactly what I mean.

For a while, I thought it was smart (and more efficient) to block off a big chunk of time for all those niggly administrative tasks. You know the deal: “I’ll deal with timesheets on Friday,” “I’ll go through all five daily newsletters at the end of the week,” or “I’ll check all my voicemails this weekend.” But then something else always came up—an important meeting, a pressing deadline, or even the siren call of procrastination—and suddenly my ‘big chunk of admin time’ was pushed back, and I was stuck in a cycle of never quite getting on top of it all.

In this post, I want to share some of the things I’ve learned about these never-ending tasks, why we let them pile up, and how to avoid that trap (or at least make the trap a little less scary!). Hopefully, by the end, you’ll have a few new strategies to keep your head above water.

The Temptation to Save Everything for Later

Let’s start by looking at why we’re so tempted to push all these tasks to the end of the week, month, or quarter. Here are a few reasons I’ve noticed in my own habits:

They’re not urgent - the tasks aren’t usually screaming at me. They don’t have a blinking deadline that I’ll be scolded for missing within the next hour. No one’s going to call me about an overdue record update or an unread newsletter. So it’s incredibly easy to shove these tasks down the priority list.

They’re often seen as ‘boring’ - let’s be real: filing expenses, inputting data, and reading routine newsletters can be mind-numbingly tedious. When I have a choice between finishing a creative project and “tick-boxing” some administrative tasks, my brain almost always chooses creativity first. Who wouldn’t?

We believe it’s more “efficient” - it can be easy to convince ourselves we’re being super-efficient by batching these tasks: “I’ll just tackle all this stuff in one go.” But is that always true? For some tasks, it might be—but for daily or consistently recurring tasks, letting them pile up can create a surprise avalanche at the end of the week.

Procrastination is real - sometimes, I just plain don’t feel like doing them. It’s as simple as that. Social media, a snack break, or literally any other activity is often more appealing. And then I pretend to myself that I’ll be more in the mood tomorrow (or the next day, or the next…).

The Downside of Big Admin Sessions

Now, I’m not saying that you should never block out a chunk of time for admin tasks. In fact, when you have a random selection of smaller tasks that only need to be done once or twice a month, it can definitely be helpful to batch them. But if you’re piling up daily or weekly tasks into a single catch-all session, be aware of the pitfalls:

Running out of time - this is my number one culprit. I might block off an hour or two on a Friday afternoon to ‘catch up.’ Then a project emergency comes along. Or I suddenly realise I need to prepare for a meeting that wasn’t on my radar. Boom—my precious admin time vanishes into thin air, and I’m now heading into the weekend or next week with everything still waiting.

Feeling overwhelmed - staring at a long list of tasks can trigger that sinking feeling of dread. When the list of unread newsletters or unfilled timesheets hits double digits, even the simplest job feels monumental. Cue more procrastination.

Memory lapses - If I’m filling in timesheets weeks after the fact, it’s so easy to forget what I worked on. I end up having to hunt through the calendar, emails, Teams messages, or even meeting notes just to remember how I spent my time. That doubles the time I spend on the task and is definitely not efficient.

Loss of accuracy - similar to memory lapses, I risk inaccuracies if I wait too long. If the timesheet requires detailed project codes, or the newsletters need quick insights, letting them pile up can mean I’m not capturing info in real-time—and that could lead to mistakes.

The Case for Doing Tasks as You Go

Here’s the turning point that helped me: I realised that for a lot of these daily or weekly tasks, it might actually be less painful overall to just do them as I go along. Let’s look at some benefits:

Less to remember - doing tasks in real-time (or close to it) means you’re capturing the information while it’s fresh. This is especially important for timesheets or client updates. When I fill out my timesheet at the end of each day, it literally takes me two or three minutes. If I wait until Friday, it might take me half an hour to piece together everything.

Quick gains - crossing tasks off your list little by little gives you small hits of productivity. This can keep you motivated and stop the dreaded admin-fest from looming. Also, you’re way less likely to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume.

Avoiding the ‘snowball’ effect - by doing a bit each day, you prevent the tasks from accumulating into a giant pile. This might seem obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to forget when you’re busy juggling meetings, deadlines, and hybrid schedules.

Consistent quality - handling tasks in smaller, more frequent sessions often improves quality. You’re in the right mindset for each piece of work, and you’re less likely to rush through everything in a panic when the deadline finally arrives.

Use Micro-Breaks for Micro-Tasks

I started using the tiny pockets of time that pop up throughout the day—like the five minutes before a meeting starts or the short break after I finish a big project—to tackle mini tasks. A quick timesheet update, unsubscribing from a useless newsletter, or reviewing a short daily newsletter can often be done in these micro-breaks, leaving my actual ‘focus blocks’ free for more substantial work.

Set Daily or Weekly Reminders

If your timesheets are due each week, set a daily 4pm reminder to log your hours for that day. If you need to review a newsletter, schedule it in your calendar for a short 10–15 minutes in the morning. These little nudges act like guardrails that keep you from drifting too far off track.

Use the Right Tools

Sometimes the biggest hurdle is the friction caused by clunky tools. If your timesheet system is a pain to log into, or if the newsletters are poorly formatted, you’re less likely to do them regularly. Look for productivity apps that streamline the process. Some platforms let you log time directly from your task management tool, or read newsletters in a more user-friendly interface.

Batch Only When It Makes Sense

If certain tasks truly are more efficiently done together, then batch them—but be specific about which tasks these are. For instance, maybe it’s monthly expense reporting or a quarterly status update. Schedule a block of time well in advance and treat it like any other important meeting. That way, you’re not always tempted to hijack that slot when something else comes up.

Set a Strict ‘Cut-Off’ Time

If you do decide to have a dedicated block of admin time, set a hard boundary. For example, “Fridays from 3:00 to 4:00 is admin time, no exceptions.” This helps ensure that tasks which truly can wait don’t keep getting pushed back. But remember, the more you can handle small tasks daily, the less you’ll need these bigger blocks.

Accountability Partners

We often talk about accountability partners for big goals like exercise or diet, but why not for admin tasks too? If you have a co-worker who also struggles with timesheet compliance or email backlog, agree to check in with each other. A quick Teams message—“hey, did you log your times today?”—can be surprisingly effective at keeping you on track.

Challenges You Might Face

Even with the best of intentions, things won’t always go smoothly. Here are a few roadblocks (and quick thoughts on how to navigate them):

“Too busy” to do tasks daily - there will be days when you’re genuinely swamped. But remember, if you’re too busy to take five minutes to fill in your timesheet today, how on earth are you going to find half an hour to do it at the end of the week? The problem often compounds. Acknowledge it may feel inconvenient in the moment, but it will likely save you time and stress in the long run.

Procrastination gremlins - sometimes, no matter how strong our resolve, procrastination rears its head. Try using the ‘two-minute rule’: if it can be done in two minutes, do it now. If it takes longer, decide exactly when you’ll do it and commit.

Hybrid work distractions - working remotely part of the week means new distractions—hello, laundry, Netflix, children, or pets. I’ve found that having a dedicated workspace (even if it’s just a corner of the living room) and set “office hours” can help me treat my work as seriously at home as I do in the office.

Lack of visibility - in a hybrid world, it can feel like certain tasks are out of sight, out of mind. If your manager or team isn’t physically seeing you fill out forms or handle your admin, you might deprioritise it. Find ways to track and share progress with your team so that accountability remains, even if you’re not face-to-face.

Final Thoughts

Hybrid working can be both a blessing and a curse when it comes to time management. The flexibility is fantastic, but it also provides more opportunities for tasks to slip through the cracks. From daily newsletters to timesheets and everything in between, it’s all too easy for admin work to pile up if we’re not careful.

Over time, I’ve learned that chipping away at these tasks in small increments—especially when they’re recurring daily or weekly tasks—often beats saving them all for one massive session. It keeps me calm, keeps me accurate, and ultimately frees up my schedule to focus on what really matters. Of course, it’s not always possible or practical, but trying to maintain a balance between “handle it now” and “batch it later” can work wonders for productivity and peace of mind.

So, next time you’re tempted to let those timesheets or newsletters accumulate, think about the five or ten minutes you could spend right now to tackle them. By the end of the week, you might just be thanking yourself for the lighter load and enjoying that extra cup of coffee instead of racing to catch up.

Here’s to fewer admin nightmares, more effective hybrid working, and a little more free time to do the things we enjoy!