Today, I’m writing about one of my favorite topics – systems! They can benefit your life in so many ways, increase your efficiency and productivity and even help you organize your life. If you’re against structure and change, don’t fret. Systems can help you too!
What are systems?
The easiest way to think about systems is that they are anything that help you be more efficient and more productive. Think about the habits you create. THOSE are systems. I’ll give. you a few examples to help you get a better idea.
When you first get home from work, you probably get the mail. What do you do with it when you walk in the house? Chances are, you have some sort of an in-take process you go through.
When you arrive at work, what’s the first thing you do? Maybe get a cup of coffee, open your email and review the tasks and meetings you have that day.
Do you use an online file system line OneDrive or Dropbox? It probably has folders and sub-folders, files and all sorts of things you’ll need to access at any given point in time.
Each one of these is a system. And I bet you use one, or more, of these every single day.
Why are systems needed?
Without systems, life would be chaotic. Think about it. A world with no structure and no rules. Yes, it seems fun but we wouldn’t able to function well. Ok, so you don’t like change. I get it. But guess what? You don’t have to like change to understand the need for systems.
Each one of them has a reason for existing. Electronic file systems help businesses stay organized. Going through mail as soon as you walk in your house helps you avoid missing due dates on bills and other important correspondence. And going through your day before it starts helps you to be prepared.
What can systems do for you?
Systems can increase efficiency and productivity. They can reduce and even eliminate time wasters, while using less energy and effort. And they can show you gaps in your current processes and where things might “fall through the cracks”. As mentioned before, systems can give you some structure in your life (Which is a great thing!).
Why I love systems?
For me, organization is everything! Without it, everything else falls apart. I need structure in my life to stay sane. And heck, a perfectly used planner can help too. When it comes to file systems, I believe everything has a place, a home, if you will. When things aren’t kept in their home, they can get lost and jumbled around. There’s a rhyme and reason for everything.
My Favorite Systems to Use
Here are some of the systems I use every single day to stay organized.
| Hubspot | This is the system I use to manage my CRM (customer relations manager), perform my email marketing and keep a task list I can see every day, across all platforms. |
| Paper Planner | I would be lost without this! Writing things down is key when it comes to remembering what I need to do and helps me see priorities |
| Social Curator / Planoly | I have a love/hate relationship with social media and these systems help me “set it and forget it”. I get to make sure my posts go out daily and focus on engagement. |
| Google Suite | I use Google for EVERYTHING! Email, storage using Drive and shared photo albums with friends and clients. |
| Health (iOS app) | As an asthmatic, I have to take medicines every day. This system helps me keep track of when I take them, what my respiratory rate is and how much sleep I get. |
| Cozi | Without this, my husband and I wouldn’t know what to get at the market. This system helps us coordinate a shared list for shopping. |
What should you do if you need help with systems?
Contact me. 🙂 I like to consider myself an expert with creating, managing and organizing systems so if you’re in need of one or have one you need fixed, check out MVA. I bet I could help.