Doing a certain thing exclusively for a set period of time or until a certain point is reached is called batching.
Or it’s called bingeing.
Batching has a positive connotations:
- We batch our email to increase productivity.
- We batch certain tasks to off peak hours to better utilize computing resources.
- Grandma’s cookies come in batches.
Bingeing has negative connotations:
- College students binge drink.
- Cheat days turn into carb binges.
- We shyly admit to co-workers that we spent the weekend binge watching The Great British Baking Show.
There’s a reason for these connotations. Batching takes self-control—requiring focus, and (it sometimes seems) superhuman willpower to keep going. Bingeing is all about self-indulgence, and once you start a binge it doesn’t end until the package of Oreos is gone.
Success requires that we batch more than we binge and that we recognize the difference between the two.