Systems

I always thought I wanted complete freedom.

Waking up with zero responsibilities.

But that wasn’t the case.

You’ll just feel lost.

Not knowing what to do.

What I really wanted was autonomy.

Being able to choose:

• What to work on

• When to work on it

• Wherever I wanted

You see, the mind craves order.

When you start a job, it’s always more challenging at first.

But when everything stays the same, you eventually get used to it.

You’re being taught certain systems.

Ways to make your job more efficient.

There are things you do day in, day out.

And eventually...

It becomes a habit.

You can do the tasks without really thinking about them.

This is how you reach flow state.

When you are starting a business, there are both problems and benefits to this.

The problem?

No one teaches you these systems.

You’re left clueless about what to do.

That’s why the start of an entrepreneurial journey is much harder than a new job.

The benefit?

You can create systems yourself.

And you can keep adapting them until they’re perfectly tailored to you.

But how and where do you start?

I’ll show you in 4 steps:

(Step 1) Determine Key Habits

The goal from last week’s newsletter was to have laser focus on your goal.

Removing ALL distractions.

If you’ve done this right, you should now have space to add good habits.

You’ve probably already started implementing some.

But now it’s time to make a selection.

There’s only so much time in a day.

Write down all of the tasks you do in a week.

(excluding your main responsibilities)

Next, list these tasks.

If you have 16 tasks, number them from 1 to 16.

The first should be the most important with the highest leverage.

The last should be the least important.

Now, scrap number 6 through16.

You’ll be left with only 5 tasks.

These are the ones to go all in on.

Eliminate, Automate, and Delegate the rest.

This will make your laser focus even more powerful.

Here are my 5 key tasks:

• Post weekly newsletter

• Post weekly tweets

• Engage

• Build projects

• Journaling

(Step 2) Breaking them down

Next, break each task down into specific actions.

Here’s how mine look:

Newsletter: Outlining, writing, editing, posting

Tweets: Capturing ideas, writing, editing, scheduling

Engagement: Commenting on others’ posts, replying to my posts, DMing creators, networking calls

Project Building: Brainstorming, planning, creation, implementation

Journaling: Morning gratitude, brain dump, daily lesson, next-day planning

(Step 3) Creating a weekly planning

Now that you know exactly what each task entails...

Make a weekly plan that includes every part of your tasks.

I suggest using a visual timetable.

Include responsibilities and active rest.

Here’s an example I made with Canva:

Perhaps you aren’t as fortunate to work only 3 days at your 9-5.

In that case, I try going to bed earlier

And fit in 1 hour of creative deep work before heading to your job each day.

Maybe you have kids?

More responsibilities than I do?

Or, maybe you’ll have even more time to work on your business.

Figure something that works for you.

(Step 4) Implement and Iterate

Now it’s time to put in the WORK.

Try to follow your timetable as closely as possible.

But of course...

Sometimes life gets in the way.

(and that’s fine)

Or maybe you want to meet with a friend.

Stay flexible but make sure your priority tasks get done.

No matter what.

One key thing:

The time table you see here wasn’t my first draft.

It wasn’t even my second.

I kept adjusting it.

At first, I combined 2 hours of creative work with 2 hours of engagement into a 4-hour deep work block.

But I noticed my engagement energy wasn’t the same.

So I experimented by taking a walk after the first 2 hours.

I felt energized and refreshed.

So I decided to make a habit out of it.

I also used to build projects right after lunch.

But I noticed I wasn’t as productive after eating.

Instead, I switched to 1 hour of learning after lunch.

Then tackled my projects.

The point is to really observe how each action affects another.

Journal about it for clarity and to remember it.

A perfect system doesn’t exist.

Always keep experimenting and iterating.

What works for you now may not work in the future.

You’re welcome to take inspiration from my systems.

But remember that everyone is different.

What works for me may not work for you.

‘’Learn from many, copy none.’’

Much love,

Tibor