March 19, 2022
3 Simple Systems
Assuming you’re not billing by the hour, it makes tons of sense to find ways to do your work quicker, easier, and better.
This could mean building elaborate systems like complex automations or website plugins or application macros.
But it doesn’t have to...
Here are three simple systems that you could create in under an hour:
Text Expanders—Install a text expander application on your devices and load it up with any text snippets that you type frequently. I use aText but there are loads of others. To find your first batch of snippets, go your recent email communication looking for anything repetitive. Even small things like the url to your website, your email address, your preferred email sign off, or a link to your online scheduler can make a big difference. Speaking of online schedulers...
Scheduling Software—If you’re still doing the “does TIME on DATE work for you?” email dance, it’s high time you look into an online scheduling tool. You hook it up to your calendar, configure your preferences, and it gives you a link you can send out so people can pick an open time in your calendar for a meeting, call, appointment, whatever. I use Calendly but there are lots of others that people like.
Checklists—Make a checklist for any multi-step procedure you do on a recurring basis and keep it handy. I use text documents in a folder on my desktop so I always know exactly where they are when I need one. Even if you have a given procedure memorized, write it down. There’s something about having it in front of you that makes it much quicker and easier to run through than if it’s just in your head. Also, having it in text format makes it easy to improve over time.
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I use these three systems every day and I feel like I couldn’t live without them.
I have 100+ keyboard shortcuts in my text expander app, I have 11 types of events in my online scheduler, and I have a dozen checklists that each have anywhere from ten to a hundred steps.
Of course they didn’t start out this big.
They started small and grew over time.
The trick is to start.
Yours,
—J