Batch processing in kitchen and business: Allison Schaaf on PrepDish

Executive overview

Reactive decisions — what to cook, when to post, which email to answer — drain time and willpower. Preparing in batches eliminates those micro-decisions before they happen. Doing the work upfront makes the right choice the only choice.

The same logic that governs meal prep governs editorial calendars, email habits, and daily routines: front-load effort, batch similar tasks, and protect the hours that matter most.

Kitchen batch-cooking tactics

• Keep a freezer staple (fish, ground meat) plus pre-chopped veg for no-prep meals on demand
• When the cutting board is out, chop everything that needs chopping — not just what's needed now
• When the oven is on, fill it: roasting chicken? Add sweet potatoes for tomorrow's lunch
• Double all freezer-friendly recipes (soups, chilies, lasagnas, muffins) automatically
• Dressings and marinades are interchangeable — make one batch and use it both ways
• Make a large salad at the start of the week; draw from it for lunch and dinner sides
• Wash all vegetables at once; keep a trash bowl at your station to avoid constant trips to the bin
• Pre-chopped produce from the store is a legitimate shortcut — nothing has been added, nothing is lost

Applying batch thinking to business

• Plan meal plans, blog posts, and email newsletters 3–6 months at a time to catch repetition and gaps
• Quarterly planning reveals patterns that weekly planning misses entirely
• Batch phone calls into dedicated call days; protect other days for deep focus work
• Review new advertiser or vendor submissions in a set window — not on arrival
• Process invoices and physical mail in batches rather than reacting to each one
• Schedule social media posts in advance to maintain variety and stay out of the feed
• One thorough email sweep per day beats constant inbox monitoring

Daily routine and work-life balance

• Block time for a mid-afternoon walk at the point when productivity naturally dips (~2pm)
• Stack habits: afternoon walk followed immediately by meditation locks both in
• An evening shutdown routine — listing tomorrow's top three tasks, closing all programs — removes morning decision-making
• The first hour of the morning (no phone, no computer) sets the tone for the whole day
• Morning routine + evening shutdown = the full daily container; focus on both, not just mornings
• Routines slip fast: missing one night makes the second miss easier; catch and correct quickly
• Block vacation dates on the calendar before anything else fills the space
• Revisit routines seasonally — what fits one phase of life won't fit the next