Practice makes perfect processes

You're terrible at systems because you're waiting to be good at them first.

Standing in my garage at 6 AM with a skipping rope, getting strangled by sporting goods, I had a revelation. This awkward, painful, "please-don't-let-the-neighbours-see-this" moment? It's exactly like building business systems.

Everyone shows you their polished, automated, money-printing machines. Nobody shows you the garage footage of them whipping themselves in the face with their own processes.

Time to change that.

(I share all this one this weeks episode of the Lone Wolf Unleashed Podcast.)

Seth Godin on Confusing Performance with Process - Why winning doesn't mean you did it right, and losing doesn't mean you messed up. The outcome isn't always in your control, but your process is.

James Clear: Forget Goals, Focus on Systems - The post that started it all. Goals are for people who want to win once. Systems are for people who want to keep winning. Still holds up.

Why Perfectionism Leads to Procrastination - Academic research proving what we all suspect: perfectionists procrastinate more than anyone else. Fear of imperfection creates paralysis.

The Get-Started-Ugly Documentation Method

Stop trying to build the perfect system. Start by documenting the ugly one you already have.

Here's how:

Real example: I spent three years trying to build the "perfect" client management system. Research, tutorials, mapping every scenario. End result? A spreadsheet. A really good spreadsheet that I actually use.

Meanwhile, mate Dave made a checklist in Google Docs and saved 6 hours a week. His system wasn't perfect, but it was done.

Done beats perfect. Every. Single. Time.

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On the Myth of Natural System Builders

Had a call with a potential client last week. Successful consultant, good money, working 70-hour weeks. Asked me: "How do I know if I'm just not naturally good at systems?"

Mate. I've been doing this for 15 years and I still Google "how to untangle spreadsheet formulas" like I'm solving quantum physics.

There's no such thing as "naturally good at systems." There's just people who've practiced being terrible at it for longer than others.

I used to think successful business owners had some secret knowledge about automation and processes. Turns out they just got tired of doing the same stupid tasks over and over, so they wrote them down and slowly made them less stupid.

The only difference between you and the productivity guru with seventeen VAs? They started documenting their mess earlier. That's it. That's the whole secret.

Your business isn't broken because you don't have perfect systems. It's just inefficient because you haven't bothered to write down what you're already doing.

Stop waiting for the systems fairy to visit. Start ugly, stay consistent, get slightly better each week.

Switch off sooner. Live larger.

Lone Wolf Unleashed
Helping solo operators escape the complexity trap

P.S. Got a system that looks embarrassingly basic but actually works? Hit reply and tell me about it. I'm collecting evidence that simple beats sophisticated.

Enjoy this post, refer new subscribers and get the Time Flux Method - what I use to help people save 2+ hours a day.