Management for the self-employed
For years now I’ve been self-employed and I depend on my own motivation, scheduling abilities, etc. to make a living. I’m not a user of any fancy system or method for getting things done, and 95% of the time when I see elaborate advice on lifehacker.com or other productivity sites I know it won’t work for me.
Well today I came across a great post that approximates the system I use that I didn’t even think of as a system: The writing on the wall. Vero, at thatcanadiangirl.co.uk, says “It turns out that the best organization tools are a single sheet of paper and a calm brain.” I totally agree. This might not work if you bill clients hourly, but for less structured businesses like mine, something simple and reliable is all I need.
I don’t use her system exactly – but I do often start the day writing out my list of 5 or 6 things, and that list often includes 2 or 3 of the same things every day (Surprise: writing sessions is one of them). I write it on a post it, and stick it on my monitor, replacing the one from the day before. Whenever I feel lost or out of control, odds are I forgot to do this for the day. So I stop, make my list, and get back on track.
Here’s a photo of her list from her post – definitely head over there to read her full explanation of how her simple system works.
