It’s true. I’m a chronic organizer and a total systems addict. I love nothing more than creating time in my day and uber-happy customers by getting some key systems in place in my business. Generally, this overflows into my life and you’ll find me meal planning, batching errands, and doing Pomodoros for household tasks (it takes me 7 minutes to empty my dishwasher – yes, I’ve timed it).
And while I love the puzzle of how systems work together, I am also an advocate for simplicity, ease, and keeping your eyes on your own paper. After all, the name of the Facebook Group I started up last year is Simplified Systems. So while systems and tools are totally in my wheelhouse, I’m here to give you a little permission slip/kick in the pants:
You may have heard me say it before: a system is only as good as it’s user. So how do you know when you need a system and when you don’t? Here are some telltale signs of both:
YOU NEED A SYSTEM WHEN:
1) You don’t know where to start.
If you sit down at your desk in the morning and immediately dive into a time-sucking task (email and Facebook top that list), you need a system.
2) You can’t sleep. Or read a book. Or relax. (and you really need to chill)
When your to-do list keeps you up at night as you figure out how you’re going to remember that amazing blog post headline tomorrow morning, you need a system.
3) You want to hand things off to a team member (now or in the not-so-distant future).
It’s time to grow and scale your business a bit, but there’s nothing to actually hand off since it’s all in your head. You need a system.
4) You are overwhelmed on a daily basis.
Which notebook is that in? Just one more email…. No time for lunch! Did I ever send that invoice? You need a system.
YOU DON’T NEED A SYSTEM WHEN:
1) You know what to do when you sit down to do the doing.
Mondays are CEO days, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are devoted to client work, Thursdays you hang with the kiddos volunteering at their school, Fridays you create content and build your dreams. You’ve got this.
2) You just need to freakin’ DO THE THING.
Don’t spend an hour searching for a tool or program that will ban you from Facebook and Buzzfeed and Pinterest and all of the other distractions. Turn it off, tune it out, and do the work. The end.
3) You already spend less than 10% of your work time on administrative tasks.
Good for you! Admin can be a time consuming piece of running a business. If you find that not very much of your time is sucked up by this category of tasks, no system required!
4) Things are really working for you, just as they are.
You like writing out personal responses to every email inquiry. You don’t mind the back and forth for appointment setting. Posting to social media doesn’t overwhelm or distract you. Your bookkeeping is practically managing itself. For some people, these are real scenarios. Are you one of them?
So, do you need a system or not? Where do you fall right now?
This kind of educated decision making is what keeps you safe from SOS (that’s Shiny Object Syndrome) and moves your business forward. Knowing where, when, and why you need systems in place gives you power over your daily biz operations. And getting the right systems in place when you need them is ultimately the gift that keeps on giving with happy raving customers.
