Using Zen Practices to Increase Your Organization & Productivity
Posted May 13, 2010 in Business, Productivity
There comes a time in every freelancer’s business that they realize the sad truth–that we spend more time answering emails, talking on the phone, sending estimates and invoices and doing generally everything but what we actually went into business for.
I hate, absolutely hate, the management part of projects and of business in general. If I had my way, projects would beam down from the sky on to my desk with perfect budgets and perfectly detailed specs. I would never again have to answer 100 emails about why you can’t do a full site in Flash or why it’s not OK to hand me 100 mockups when they paid for three.
Unfortunately though, that will never happen. So I’ve spent a considerable amount of time reading up on different practices to decrease the amount of time I spend doing something other than development. I’ve found that you can actually apply the basic principles of Zen living to your office to reduce up your management time.
Less is More
The main principle of Zen living is that less is more. This can apply to our business in several different ways. You should aim to find ways of reducing your management time to increase your productivity. Some things you can do:
- Find apps that do more than one thing. Aim to find one app that can management your entire client process. I use Billings, but Basecamp is also a great alternative.
- Reduce the time spent moving files from one computer to another by using Dropbox. It’s free and it syncs automatically.
- Get rid of all your paper files and keep digital copies. This also helps reduce waste and paper/ink costs.
Tranquility in Folders
Cut your time searching for files by making sure your desktop stays clear of any files. Create a folder for each client inside of a “Business” or “Clients” folder, then create folders for each project under that client. This allows you to find old files quickly and gives you a system for organizing the hundred of projects you’ll work on in your business.
Short Emails
Everyone’s biggest monster is the dreaded email. It seems that after we spend an hour going through 100 emails to finally get a clear inbox–another 100 emails show up! You can either choose to ignore this monster, let it overtake you or choose to conquer it. And conquer it we must!
- Organize your email like you organize your files–by client.
- Set up your computers to pull your email via IMAP so your emails and folders are synced together.
- Aim to respond to each email as you come to it in a few sentences or less.
- Check your email only during certain time periods everyday (I do first thing in the morning, right before lunch and right before quitting time).
Relax Client Meetings
I’m going to let you on on another secret–90% of all clients that demand to have in person or hour long phone meeting before a project even begins doesn’t end up buying. They’re tire kickers. So aim to weed these people out early and often as time spent in these pointless meetings means time lost for paid work.
I tell all of my local clients up front–I don’t do any in-person meetings. This doesn’t tend to be a problem as most of my clients aren’t local anyways. I also try to discourage phone meetings by asking the client to email me a detailed description of the work they need, or even to IM me instead.
Of course, there are still plenty of clients who prefer to use the phone. Try to keep the conversations short by staying on topic. Of course, be friendly and ask how they’re doing, but don’t get into a 30 minute conversation about baseball either.
Meditation in Work
I am the most relaxed during business when I’m spending 3+ hours coding with some loud music on. Aim to chunk out blocks of time where nothing can interrupt you. Turn off your email, phone and IM programs and do what you do best during that time.
Calendars and To-Dos Fluidity
Calendars and to-dos are awesome for keeping you on track and letting you know what you need to do that day. But don’t let them be too detailed or you’ll lock yourself to it. Instead, aim to make your schedule more general and fluid, so you can change if needed.
For example, when I schedule my clients, I schedule them for the whole week and I don’t put a to-do on certain days for items (like complete homepage on Monday, subs on Tuesday, etc). This allows me to move my time around and stay productive.
Zen-like Offices
I’m a neat freak when it comes to organization and I can’t concentrate if I see stuff all over my desk, clothes on the floor or clutter in general. Aim to keep nothing on your desk but what you need at the moment–and put it away when your finished.
Always Improve
I’m still struggling with freeing up more time. At best I only get one to three hours a day to code! This will always be a work in progress, so make sure you constantly try to improve how you work.
Your Zen Tips
Do you have some organizational or productive tips? Please share them below as I could always use more time! :)
Image by josh.liba
Related posts:
- Increase Your Freelancing Income by Narrowing Your Focus
- How To Increase Business While Beating The Summer Heat
- The Lost Art Of Selling – 10 (almost effortless) Ways To Increase Sales
- How To Unleash the Productivity Beast
- 10 Productivity Tools for Computer Addicts
About the author: Amber is a freelancer with over 10 years of experience and specializes in clean, semantic and valid HTML5, CSS3 and Wordpress development. She also writes a web development blog at www.amberweinberg.com and just launched a web app for developers at www.codesnipp.it.
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44 Comments
tgpo
May 13th, 2010 at 9:06 amMeditation in Work. If only it were at easy.
I’m pulled 300 different ways on 300 different projects every day. The excitement of never knowing what I’ll be working on in a given day is more of a rush than sitting stationary for 3 hours coding, but I’m worn out at 5pm.
To each his (or her) own I suppose though.
Now if only I could keep my desk clean I’d be in business.
-tgpo
http://www.tgpo.org
Jordan Walker
May 13th, 2010 at 9:15 amHow about waking up earlier?
Chris Mower
May 13th, 2010 at 9:37 amI’m also a neat freak! ha ha. I keep my computer desk and desktop clean and orderly. Something I try to always do is immediately file something or throw it away (or eat it?), when I get it. That prevents it from building up and creating a hassle later.
I’m also a huge fan of less is more.
Great post. Thanks :)
Jonathan B
May 13th, 2010 at 10:36 am“Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.” – Shunryu Suzuki
Allena
May 13th, 2010 at 11:54 amBecause I live about 15 minutes into the suburbs, I can’t stand in person meetings. Since I send my children to a school out “that way” though, I will piggyback a meeting on pickup time if it’s an established client or good money.
Mike Roberts
May 13th, 2010 at 12:33 pmHey Amber,
I am a HUGE organization and productivity geek (I’m a consultant for freelance web designers and others independent workers) so I’m going to be extra geeky and make notes on this article as I read:
1) The Photo: AHHHHHHH!!! I love to work in a clean and organized environment. I don’t need it super quiet though, I love the hustle and bustles of coffee shops and book stores.
2) I actually love, love LOVE the management part of our web design projects. Setting up a workflow for our web designers that suits their style but still allows us, the individual, to “gently” control the client, give them awesome service, and guide them through our process and not the other way around.
3) I hear you on the 100 emails, and other seemingly endless requests. For us, setting up proper expectations for our clients (and ourselves!) from the word GO, has helped us eliminate this issue.
4) Less is More: Agreed. We use Basecamp, it is awesome and like you said, it can do more than one thing. I’m not so concerned with all the latest tools, so much as I am with functionality. If we can do everything in one centralized place, it will be much more efficient.
5) Folders are a must.
6) Short eMails: Really great piece of advice, I’m going to implement this one right away. I’m actually feeling bad about leaving such a long comment now!
7) Client Meetings: 2 absolute musts: 1) Clear time limit 2) Clear Agenda.
We find out what topics are important to the client, and then send them a clear itinerary to keep us both on point, get the most out of our time and get back to doing what we do!
8) Meditation in Work: love your process, 3 hours of coding uninterrupted with loud music on… awesome.
9) Calendars: like you, we use our calendars and task lists as a framework that has a basic structure but is not rigid and allows for all the wonderful surprises life can bring. We like to call it “controlled chaos”.
10) Always improve: This is key, I learned from your article to write 1-3 sentence emails. that is a HUGE takeaway for me that I will implement today.
Some additional tips: You covered a lot, but I will mention a few productivity musts:
- Accountibility: Have someone other than yourself hold you accountable to your goals/tasks: Share what you hope to accomplish with a colleague or friend, and you will see your productivity skyrocket.
- Workflow system: Set one up. There must be some framework that walks you and your clients through your process. If you don’t have one, just jot down the steps to your current projects. You have to start somewhere. After each completed project, see what issues came up and do your best to come up with a solution that fits in with how you work. Most people think of a system that is rigid and unbending. Anything that is unbending- when under pressure, will break. Your system should be built to suit your unique style and allow for life to happen.
- Weekly/Monthly review: When we are in the trenches, battling and fighting we often can’t see what’s going on in the big picture. We must pull ourselves out of the day to day at strategic times and take a look at the overall direction our businesses are going. I also love this part of business, it allows me to see what is working and what is not. I can correct course quickly and get back out there and fight!
Great article, and awesome tips!
~Mike
Coral Springs lawyer
May 13th, 2010 at 2:14 pmThe idea of short emails seems like one that could be really helpful in regards to time management and efficiency. It seems important to keep everyone in the loop, but not swamp yourself with correspondence.
Johnny
May 13th, 2010 at 2:46 pmNice tips there! I’ll throw in my two cents here:
1) When your tired while working, just take a quick nap. Your production goes way up afterwards.
2) If working weekends, no emails, meetings or contact with clients at all. This is strictly catch up time.
3) Unless you’re browser testing, keep those windows closed. Temptation is (somewhat) lessened.
Cheryl Allin
May 13th, 2010 at 3:48 pmTerrific post! All great ideas that I implement, too! A few extra tips:
1. Client profiles – Utilize OneNote, Evernote or Google Wave to keep a tally of usernames, passwords and any data on the client that they’ve shared so you can easily pull it up later.
2. Text substitution – Find a program to store some of your most used email blurbs or create templates you can quickly use to answer emails, handle objections, etc.
3. Draft procedures – Hey, you may get successful enough that you’ll need to hire an assistant. If you’ve created some procedures for what you deal with daily, your training will go much faster and more smoothly.
I hope these extras are helpful! Thanks for the great post!
Amber Weinberg
May 13th, 2010 at 5:06 pmYou’ve guys have got some great tips, thanks!
Andy
May 13th, 2010 at 8:12 pmNice list. I start with a detailed hand written list of to-do’s for the next block of time i.e., 4 hours or so, and a pair of headphones. Music helps me heaps in getting in a positive mood and getting stuff done.
Vectoreeno
May 13th, 2010 at 9:05 pmAfter reading the 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, I’m convinced that having some kind of virtual assistant is the way to go. You can get very affordable ones from other countries where labor is cheaper. It’s a win-win because you employ someone who needs the work and you save time and money by letting them do all the menial tasks.
If you find the right assistant and the communication between you is excellent, your organization and productivity will be taken to a much higher level.
Angelee
May 14th, 2010 at 1:29 amManaging time is managing yourself. Avoid time-wasters, use a great time-management method that suits you, and take time to chill a bit. Some people are using journals instead of diaries. Time is more precious than money. You can’t get 2 years of your life back, but money is earnable.
Another great blog Amber!
bharat khiani
May 14th, 2010 at 1:58 pmGreat Post,
thanks to @Cheryl Allin too for sharing her way of work….really worth a thought…
thanks,
bharat khiani
Cash Loan Bournemouth
May 14th, 2010 at 3:11 pmSo so true…. just seems your always answering emails, phone etc….
Some great tips :-)
Leslie A. Joy
May 16th, 2010 at 4:02 pmGreat tips! Thanks Amber.
It’s funny that you mention hating the management part of the project process-I absolutely love it. In fact, finding out that I could be paid for it was one of the happiest days of my life.
Eko Setiawan
May 16th, 2010 at 9:38 pmI like this quote in Calendars and To-Dos Fluidity :
“But don’t let them be too detailed or you’ll lock yourself to it. Instead, aim to make your schedule more general and fluid, so you can change if needed.”
That’s my big problem-doing what I had planned :(
Thanks…great tips.
Najam Siddiqi
May 17th, 2010 at 8:21 amnice and informative article this one thanks for sharing.
Issa
May 18th, 2010 at 3:21 amNice tips, Amber. I really like the adage ” Less is More. ” In my experience, clutter really affects my psyche so I make sure that my work space and laptop is free from it. If I’m on a creative slump, I simply put on my stereo headphones and work to the bliss of binaural beats. Helps keep me focused.
Gustavo Freitas
May 18th, 2010 at 11:29 pmGreat tips Amber! I intend to reference your post in one of my posts this week where I’ll talk about productivity and how stuff works when working at home. Thanks.
RedKoala
May 19th, 2010 at 6:57 amThanks for the tips. I totaly agree with Client Meetings part. It’s faster and easier to catch up via email, and you can always semd a short email every time you get a new question to your client
WNCREATION
July 30th, 2011 at 10:54 amNice tips there!
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March 7th, 2012 at 4:34 pmZen practices are also very good for your overall health and well being. It is recommended that everyone implement Zen practices in order to manage their health conditions.
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April 27th, 2012 at 8:24 amI know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was curious what all is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web smart so I’m not 100% certain. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
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February 1st, 2013 at 5:45 amHello there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over
the same topics? Many thanks!
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