The Power of Simple Systems
Posted on June 10, 2008
Filed Under Shelter, The Life |
Systems work to make your life and your work run more smoothly. I believed that long before I really focused on implementing it (I’m a writer and, thus, a procrastinator by nature). Once I did, though, I was astounded by how much simply my life actually became.
I started prompts similar to the FREElance Survival Training to help make those systems habitual…ten calls a day, get the big stuff done early, plan for tomorrow before I “clock out,” send out invoices, check on payments, etc.
Then I put systems in place that took things to a whole new level. I started in order to automate the things I didn’t like, like invoicing, record keeping and collections, giving me time to focus on the work I did like. Then I took it a step further. I noticed that when I batch like tasks, I completed them much faster.
So I declared Tuesday and Thursday my “writing days.” Yes, I only write on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Think about that for a moment. I’m a writer. That is my work. I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I know what’s going through your mind. “That would never work! I’ve got too much to do! My clients want stuff when they want it!”
I felt the same way, until I took a closer look. More often than not, clients asked for a specific date…but then followed it with “let me know if this won’t work for you.” I also realized that I could structure my time just a bit and improve my productivity. Write more in less time…since I charge by the project and not the our, it worked out to a tremendous increase in my hourly rate!
Not only that, but I now plan my jobs and decide how much I can handle by simple checking my schedule for Tuesday and Thursday!
Of course…the Tues/Thurs thing IS a bit of an over simplification. First, I noticed I had a lot of wasted time in the car…taking the kids to school…driving to meet clients…driving out to my favorite hiking and camping spots. So, I’d work in the car, using the Jott.com service to dictate the ideas and basic structure for what I’ll write on Tues and Thurs. Second, because of this prep work…I typically write between 10 am and 3 pm on Tuesday and Thursday. Minus lunch from 12-1, of course.
If it’s a new client, I’ll typically spend a little time doing a little research on Mondays. Occasionally, I’ll take a client out for a nice lunch (can you say write-off?).
What does this mean, exactly? It means I took what was a decent life with a 27-hour work week, and turned it into an unbelievable 8-hour (plus stolen moments that would otherwise be wasted time) work week. Actually, it’s less than that now.
I tell you all of this not simply to show off. But to get you thinking about where you’re wasting time. Where you’re duplicating efforts. Where you’re banging your head against the wall, while there’s a door if you’d just take two steps to the left.
But don’t do it so you can simply goof off (or drag in more work to fill the time). The real benefits of simplifying things isn’t so you can get even more done…but so that you can DO more. My oldest son is out of school for the summer. I’ve been spending a lot of time with him doing all sorts of things. It was looking like the start to a great summer.
Then, this last week my mother’s internist found a malignant tumor. The surgery and recovery went smoothly, and luckily I got to spend almost all of about five days there at the hospital with her. It wasn’t how I planned on using my free time. But I am certainly glad I had the time to spend however I needed it.
I still wrote on Thursday…but I did it from the hospital. And in the car.
Don’t get so caught up in the “how” of being a success that you forget what the whole point is. It’s not liberating hours so you can squeeze more work in. It’s making the work easy, so you can spend quality time…however you define it, whether that’s in the woods, at home reading a book to a five year old, or simply being there at the hospital.
Here’s to YOUR success…whatever that entails (and I hope it’s more than a number).
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