2019 was the year that I took on more than I had ever taken on as a business owner. I was knee-deep in creating a brand new course (The Consultant Code) working full-time as a freelance consultant, and managing life in the big city where it takes 30 minutes to accomplish the simplest task.

I thought it might be nice to still have friends too, call me crazy?

When I decided to create a new coaching course I thought perhaps I’d bitten off more than I could chew. Did I really have the mental and emotional capacity to be doing all.the.things? I had always done fine being busy, but now I was really going to be put to the test.

First, I didn’t (and still don’t) have a big team helping me out. It’s just me and the clock. When faced with the task of accomplishing “all the things”, I pictured myself slogging away at my kitchen island, barely sleeping, and being totally stressed out.

And this ended up happening. I was exercising less, stresssing more, and was actually starting to resent my beloved coaching business. NOT GOOD.

So I set some ground rules. The following methods were kicked to the wayside:

Everything Is Important Method (this doesn’t work - because if everything is important, nothing is)
The I Must Do Everything At Once Method (Physically impossible.)
The I Can Work On My Business When I Feel Like It Method (procrastination city!)

I identified what was taking the majority of my time and brainpower and also what I procrastinated the most on. The answer was obvious: content creation and copywriting. Creating my course, writing blogs, emails, Instagram posts, stories, Facebook, Facebook group activity, and of course my beloved LinkedIn.

I was procrastinating on doing the things that make my business… my business!

I wanted to continue focusing in all of these areas, but physically I knew it was impossible following the processes (or lack thereof) that I’d been following to date.

And then last fall while attending a conference I learned about the idea of mega-batching. Mega-batching has been a true gamechanger for my business and has propelled me into getting MORE done in LESS, more focused, time.

So what is mega-batching and how does it help SOMEONE ACCOMPLISH MORE IN less time?

In a nutshell, mega-batching is a method in which you batch completing all of your PRIORITIZED tasks for a key process into a specific amount of time. This batching is done consistently on a set weekly/monthly/etc. basis.

Batching tasks together gives you the freedom to leverage the time not doing the task to do something else. Megabatching consistently happens at the same time every period of time (day/week/month/year/etc.) so you can plan accordingly.

For example, I complete all tasks required to publish 4 blog posts every month on the last week of each month. My blog mega-batching system is comprised of 8 critical tasks required per blog post for a total of 32 tasks for 4 blog posts. BOOM. Done. All in just one week.

DO try this at home!

Dedicate one week every month to crank out your major tasks. For me I complete all of my content (emails to my list, blog post, IG posts, stories, FB posts, LinkedIn posts) during the last week of the month for the ENTIRE upcoming month.

Physically schedule this time into your calendar so your schedule is blocked and put this commitment FIRST above social obligations or travel plans.

Choose a task management tool to document and track your major tasks. Trello is great - it has a free version and is super easy to use. (send me any questions you have on this one!) If you have a team, a task management tool makes it very easy to collaborate.

The bottom line, mega-batching has given me peace of mind and a method to my madness. I’ve found that when I didn’t have a queue of blog posts and emails, social posts, and Instagram stories haunting me in every dark alley of San Francisco, I am way more productive and much more intentional about my business when I do everything in one swoop. Counterintuitive a little, I know!

If you want to learn more, I was recently a guest on Hot Content podcast - I shared how mega-batching has helped me be productive and how it’s helped me accomplish more in 2019 than in any other year.

Perhaps mega-batching isn't for everybody, but if you’re someone who thinks they could benefit from prioritizing their tasks better, or if you want to get MORE done in LESS time, I would encourage you to give it a try! If you haven’t tried something like this to manage your time before, 2020 might be the time to give it a shot!

If you want to give it a try, let me know - I’ll help you through it! Shoot me an email or DM me on social - we’re in this together!

Holly works with professionals to create services-based businesses using expertise and strengths they already have. Holly is the creator of The Consultant Code, a program will have you up, running, and profitable with your services-based business in 60 days or less! Want to learn more? Drop her a note at: holly@hollyknoll.com

How I Made 2019 My Most Productive Year Yet

So what is mega-batching and how does it help SOMEONE ACCOMPLISH MORE IN less time?