I just wrote a piece on Medium about working. I titled it "We Place Too Much Importance On Work," and now, writing this newsletter about working more efficiently, the irony is not lost on me.
Despite the irony, the two ideas do go hand-in-hand. So while the title of the Medium piece is a bit dramatic, the main point is that I strive to find the work-life balance, or in my case, the life-work balance, that works for my family and me.
To achieve that balance, a big part of the process is the organization, allowing me to be more efficient.
Project management and note apps have been my sanity-savers for as long as I can remember.
What qualifies as ages ago, I used Evernote early to house all my notes, ideas, and separate professional and personal notes. I continued to use it for years until they dialed back functionality for free users.
Since then, I have migrated to Apple Notes since I am embedded in the Apple ecosystem. But, Notes only gets me so far.
I rely on project management software to really expand my workflow, and for that, I've used Trello for so long I'm afraid to leave. In Trello, I use columns and cards to track ideas for newsletter issues (like this one!), projects that might be taking off with clients, ideas for random articles to write, articles I want to read, and a lot more.
Recently, I've been tracking lots of online chatter and reviews about Notion. I signed up for an account and copied a Trello board to the platform to test how it works.
I may migrate there and simplify some professional workflows, but Notion will be a testing space only for now.
I also rely on pen and paper. Except, in this case, it's a unique paper. In fact, it's Panda Planner made by Rocketbook. I embraced the Rocketbook tools in the past year for their environmental impact. Using Pilot Frixion pens allows the notebooks to be erasable, and therefore, reusable. As a result, I have cut my paper usage to virtually nothing.
Rocketbook has an app for your phone that allows you to scan each page and deliver it to cloud storage for those notes you don't want to lose.
The Panda Planner, in particular, helps me lay out a weekly plan of to-dos, meetings, and obligations. I have found it helps me accomplish a lot, and it compliments Trello nicely.
When it comes to my contract work, I keep my professional tools dialed in. I work using Bonsai for contract work, time-tracking, and invoicing. In addition, I use Google Workspace for cloud-based file management and email.
I wrote about Bonsai in detail recently, so if you're interested in an in-depth review, I recommend you go here to read that.
Google Workspace is my workhorse; GBs of files are stored in the cloud, accessible through my computer, the web or an app on my phone.
I stay organized by a dedicated folder hierarchy to keep my head straight.
I constantly keep my eye on marketing industry trends, and I'm here to tell you something; email is not going away. If you think that Slack, Slack, Discord, Messenger, or any other chat service can eliminate email in its entirety, you're wrong.
Knowing that impacts how I communicate with prospective clients, as well as manage my personal inboxes.
The solution for that is detailed folder management. While Google proclaims that folders and tags are here but not needed because you can search your inbox, I've found that keeping emails in folders has simplified my processes.
Knowing that all communications from a client are in their folder and that the contract conversations are in a subfolder makes it easier for me to know where to look when I need to reference something.
The same goes for all the different newsletters to which I subscribe.
I am sure that I could simplify and consolidate some of my work to singular platforms, but at this point, this process is working.
At the end of the day, and when it comes to client interaction and retention, being organized is what helps me continue to succeed.
Here are some the latest works I've sent into the world:
We Place Too Much Importance On Work (The Masterpiece)
Reconnecting With My Creation (Medium)
How Much Should You Charge As A Freelancer? (The Post-Grad Survival Guide)
Shhh. Semi-secret marathon registration window is open (Contributor - Six Minute Mile)
Issue #16: U.N. Climate Panel's Report (Choosing Eco)