How to Create Systems as a Creative

Is it time for you to create systems?

Regardless of what business you’re in, standard operating procedures are vital.

The same can certainly be said for careers in music or creativity, since a high level of self-direction is required.

Systems define the scope of every task. They help you focus on what needs to be accomplished. They help you achieve consistent results. And, because they are finite in focus, ultimately, they help you save time in your day. That’s the foundation of productivity and effectiveness.

Moreover, as author Dan Kennedy said:

All wealth is based upon systems.

In the latest episode of my podcast, I shared a little bit about the importance of systems, so I thought I would expand on the topic here.

Why it Took Me So Long to Create Systems

Having talked to over 100 business owners specifically about systems and operations, I had a good handle on how important systems are. I knew they would prove crucial to my projects and businesses too.

I knew about all the books (The E-Myth, Checklist Manifesto, The 4-Hour Workweek, etc.), all the tools (Basecamp, Atlassian, Process Street, etc.) and all the methods. Basically, I had all the answers. Yet, I struggled.

I would create systems, but most of the time they would end up sitting in some forgotten folder I would rarely access. I wasn’t great at updating them or with the ongoing creation of new systems either.

And, they were all over the place. I had systems in Word docs, Google Docs, Evernote, Asana, SweetProcess and elsewhere.

But no matter what I tried knowledge didn’t turn into breakthrough.

Isn’t that what it’s like being human? You can know how to lose weight, but unless you action those steps, you’re not going to shed unwanted pounds.

Breakthrough Was Created in Language

In my personal development work, I discovered that if it doesn’t exist in the realm of language, it simply doesn’t exist.

This is a bit of an advanced concept, and it usually takes laying some serious groundwork before it “lands” for people.

But the basic idea is this. What lives, lives in language. And, each of us have different feelings associated with different words.

Last year, I was watching a video with Taki Moore, and he was talking about frameworks. Finally, something clicked for me.

Up until that point, I had been using the same terms everyone else was using to describe their systems. Terms like:

• Standard Operating Procedures
• Processes
• Process maps
• Procedures
• Policies
• Checklists
• Workflows
• Systems

Again, I’m a creative person. When approaching business, I always try to think in terms of business (what’s going to generate sales) instead of showing up in my “default” mode (which is an artist).

If you’ve been showing up to your business as an artist to this point, recognize that you may have a lot of fun on the creative side, but you’re unlikely to make a lot of money.

But these terms – the ones you see in the list above – just felt too constraining to me. They made me slightly queasy, to be honest.

When I heard that term “frameworks,” my eyes opened wide and I started to find the motivation to get back into creating systems.

So, for me, there was a bit of a breakthrough in language.

I also shared about this in a video:

The key point here is to find terminology that works for you.

One More Piece of the Puzzle

I would love to say from that day forward things have been smooth sailing, but that would be a lie.

I knew I would be creating “frameworks” not “systems”, but that still didn’t get me to where I needed to go.

Since having that realization, I only ever created one framework, and it was specifically for a training course I’d been putting together:

Then, the other day, I was reading this post on how to start a podcast (mostly because my coach wrote it).

I don’t know anyone as knowledgeable as James Schramko when it comes to these kinds of things, and I respect him besides.

The previously mentioned post features multiple checklists that look like this:

That’s all I needed to see. Now I was confident I had a format that would work for me.

Technically, the above would be considered a minimum viable procedure because it does not feature a detailed explanation of each step, but hell, I’m a CEO, okay? I will get my assistant to handle the rest (I’m being tongue in cheek here).

Anyway, the point is that if there’s someone you admire and respect, ask them how they’re creating their systems and get them to show you. You’re more likely to adopt a process you feel confident about.

So, This is What I Did (This is How to Create Systems, Step by Step)

Are you still with me? Good. Because this is where I show a step by step process you can use for your projects and business. This is how to create systems.

First, I created a new folder on my desktop and called it “SOPs”.

I know this kind of goes contrary to what I said earlier about frameworks. I don’t know why I went with “SOPs.” Maybe it’s a bit of a mind hack or just the fact that it would make the folder easier to find. Ultimately, I still call them “frameworks.”

Then, I created a folder specifically for Music Entrepreneur HQ (as you can see, I have other projects requiring frameworks):

Then, I started making folders for different areas of the business (still very much a work in progress):

And, of course, within those folders exist multiple Word docs containing the systems (because let’s face it – there’s never just one thing to do in any area of your career or business):

Finally, here’s what my podcast promotion checklist looks like (I feel like I’m giving away a bit of the secret sauce here):

And, that’s it! How simple was that?

I know it can be easy to let your perfectionist tendencies get in the way of making frameworks (aren’t we all perfectionist as creatives?) but if you just start getting things out of your head and onto paper, not only will you feel a lot better, your productivity will begin to soar.

And, don’t forget – if you aren’t happy with anything, you can always tweak. There are no mistakes. You will add and subtract to your checklists as needed. System creation is an ongoing process (I just saw something to add to one of my checklists while writing this post!).

Remember – put away the artist hat when you’re working on the business side of things.

Do You Struggle with System Creation as a Creative?

Boring, tedious, unpleasant things are a part of life and business. That doesn’t mean they don’t need to be tended to.

Systems are usually one of those things. They aren’t exactly sexy or fun.

But as I explained at the outset, having them makes you far more productive. Honestly, I prefer the term “effective” to “productive”, but I know more people readily understand the term “productive,” which is why I use it (another great example of how certain language lands with different people).

So, do you struggle with systems? You’re literally not alone. You just read my story and saw all my flaws and analysis paralysis on display. Plus, no exaggeration, what I just shared with you represents about five to six years of struggle.

You will never have to struggle same way I did if you use the above process and get started today.

Either way, I don’t want you to leave here without making a commitment to yourself. It’s time to create systems.

I’m going to encourage you to pick up your exclusive report. It’s waiting for you right here. I look forward to helping you find your breakthrough.

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