I’ve been freelancing for almost 9 years now and in the beginning, I must admit that I was running like a headless chicken. I did not have one specific niche. I was an online ESL teacher and I wrote articles for 3 different clients. I designed learning materials for an online school. I worked on weekends as a visiting lecturer at a private college here in Sri Lanka. I also worked as a virtual assistant for an e-Commerce business.
My mantra back then was I’d accept all the online work that I could get because I was on a survival mode. I was new to the freelancing world and I wanted to thrive in it. It was very clear to me on day one that I will do it for the long haul. Whenever I’d have the opportunity to take in clients, I’d take them no matter what.
Where did this lead me? Overwhelm.
Because I got overwhelmed, it was difficult to focus and maintain a high level of productivity.
The kind of productivity I’m able to achieve now took a long time to build. I learned it the hard way!
And so, I’m sharing with you all the secret to unrelenting productivity (at least in my case) : a system!
Let me take you through my journey.
The Journey of Building My System
⚙️Awareness
It took a good read to make me realize this one and the realization came from Atomic Habits by James Clear. “Your habits are shaped by the systems in your life.”
This happened during the pandemic.
After reading it, I kept on asking myself, “How can I deliver quality work to my clients with as little energy as possible and attend to my personal needs as well”?
There’s no way that I will be able to sustain my energy long term if I would be doing client work all by myself. I will tire out eventually and worse, I might fall sick.
During the pandemic, I was blessed with more work that I got to pass on some opportunities to friends who had lost their income. It was also during this time when I started outsourcing tasks to a friend that made me realize that I actually have the ability in managing outsourced work.
How I viewed productivity in all those years led me to overwhelm. I wanted the kind of productivity wherein it’s my work that adjusts to the kind of life I desired to live. I love the freedom that I was enjoying back then, but I needed more than that.
It’s sustainability I yearned for.
This awareness prompted me to remove some client projects that were not aligned anymore to my goals.
⚙️Elimination
The moment I made the decision to be productive according to my definition was the time I began the process of elimination.
I said goodbye to some of my clients. I unfollowed pages and left groups on Facebook that were not in the niche I decided to pursue. I trimmed down my list of friends on Facebook. I unsubscribed from the newsletter of some of the gurus I follow in the online freelancing and digital marketing world. I got rid of bookmarked pages of sites that I promise I’d look into when I get the time. I quit applying at different online job sites and I just focused my efforts on one.
I cleaned my Google drive of swiped files that I know I will never have the time to check out.
In the process of elimination, I had to learn how to let go of my sentiments and futuristic thoughts. It was such a relief!
⚙️Delegation
I’ve been a manager in my previous work abroad, but managing a staff remotely requires a different approach. The following year, I hired my sister-in-law to work on some virtual tasks for me for a minimal fee. I took this risk so that I can practice my remote talent management skills and build my systems. After 7 to 8 months of outsourcing tasks to her, I moved on to hiring her full time.
In those months that I was training her, I also trained myself to trust others and to trust myself more. I had to improve my file organization, lead generation process, client delivery, and administration system. On top of this, I was also building a routine for myself that catered to my physical and mental wellbeing.
It was indeed a significant step for me as an entrepreneur.
My vision became clearer to me and I was able to communicate this with my staff.
I wanted to grow my freelancing work into a mini agency that’s manageable, sustainable, and profitable. A manageable system for me means something simple yet reliable that can bring us both peace of mind. A sustainable one means that it’s aligned with who we’re evolving to and it matches our lifestyle we’re creating for ourselves. A profitable system for me means that with it, I can save time and use my energy on the more essential aspects of the business.
I no longer wanted the freedom and sustainability just for myself, but I wanted it also for my staff and for the people who will be working with me in the future.
⚙️Management
Initially, I had to live with the risk of hiring my first staff and managing her remotely. My staff has been with me for almost 3 years now and we still continue to refine our systems. I can say that it was worth taking the risk.
There are challenges that come with delegating tasks, providing effective feedback, and managing performance expectations. The virtue of patience helped me a lot. I held myself back from high expectations and perfectionism. It takes time to hire, train, and onboard a staff. They must be aligned to your vision and values.
I don’t micromanage, but I keep regular check-ins to maintain open communication. I take empowerment seriously so I allow her to make decisions on designs and ideas. I respect her autonomy because I can trust her to work independently.
I also encourage work-life balance for better productivity. My staff does not work on weekends and her time within the day is flexible. For as long as the task is done, I don’t mind her start time and end time of work.
Our Unrelenting Productivity
It took me two long years to build the system that we’re using now. This system that we have includes processes, routines, and tools. They’re all a work in progress and I welcome opportunities for improvement.
⚙️Processes
As we know, a process is a series of steps that we complete to achieve a specific result. In the case of a digital business, this includes client acquisition, client work delivery, client retention, client communication, work administration, and personnel management. There are sub-processes within each.
⚙️Routines
As for routines, in our business, this mainly involves communication, task prioritization, and creative work. We also integrate our personal routine into our system. We adjust our work to our lifestyle. For my staff who is a stay-at-home mom of one, she begins her day with her family as her priority and I highly encourage that. I start mine with some quiet time for gratitude and journaling.
⚙️Tools
As for tools, we use Whatsapp for instant clarifications or updates and Zoom for virtual training. For file administration, we rely heavily on Google drive. We don’t use any project management tools yet as our requirements are still minimal. In terms of creative work, we have Canva for it.
Shared Values and Vision
I see myself still in this digital business landscape for a long time and one thing that I made sure at the onset of building my system was a shared vision. It was a regular act for me to ask my staff what her plans are and what she decides to do in future.
Sharing my vision to her and motivating her somehow helped to give direction to the work that we are both doing. She knows that her contribution to the business has an impact long term. I share my vision because I hope that she will be connected to it and she will also commit to it. And thankfully, this approach has been effective.
It’s also close to my heart that the system we created is based on our values system. My staff and I are both women and the eldest daughter. We are family-oriented and we desire a healthy and wealthy well being.
Shared values are important to me because it is the foundation and identity by which this business is growing.
Do you run your own online business? What other benefits have you experienced from having strong systems in your digital business? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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