Comments on: A Soloist’s Workflow

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By: bucetrik

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Nothing seems worth thinking about. Today was a total loss. I just don’t have much to say lately. I can’t be bothered with anything.
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By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:59:15 +0000

My advice to anyone thinking of going out on their own, is: however hard you think it will be, it will be twice as hard.

By: Strive Notes » September 15th: this week’s top 5

Strive Notes » September 15th: this week’s top 5 — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 07:43:38 +0000

[...] 1. Web Worker Daily has a lively discussion about how virtual workers manage their time. It’s interesting to see the different approaches. [...]

By: umair

umair — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:27:13 +0000

Great discussion. Personally, I try and split time up into larger chunks – a month doing each of thinking/writing/talking/working. I find it’s almost impossible for me to just do a few days of each, because I lose momentum too suddenly.

Also, I could *definitely* use better tools to manage all this stuff…I can’t believe the size of the market gap here…

By: Andre Lewis

Andre Lewis — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 21:53:48 +0000

I find the balance shifts depending on the type of projects I have at any one time. When I’m involved in a longer project, the ratio definitely shifts more towards “doing the work.” Being able to shift your mindset and focus back to the other (equally important) parts of the business is a crucial skill for soloists.

By: Leo Archer

Leo Archer — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:44:31 +0000

Workflows for solo or small businesses

Web Worker Daily has a pretty interesting post about suggested work flows for solo businesses which I think could easily be applied to small businesses. The suggestions really appeal to me. Stowe Boyd, a good pal of ours, after indulging

By: Rex Dixon

Rex Dixon — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:48:30 +0000

I admire all of you that are on your own and solo! I want to so badly do this, but never can seem to get the hang of it. I currently am writing a more serious blog – http://rexdixon.wordpress.com – due to seeing blogs actually being full time professions such as the guy over at – http://techcrunch.com — even today, just released my first podcast – http://rexdixon.wordpress.com/2006/09/11/20-questions-with-scot-duke/ – if you want to bypass the blog permalink, here is my podcast hosting service – http://clickcaster.com/rex-dixon — an interview I did with Scot Duke who has his own book out which you can find on his web site – http://www.innovativebusinessgolf.com/ — anyways…

So I have allot of talent, but still work a regular job? What advice to you give those of us who have yet to break free? Go Solo???

Rex

By: JP Werlin

JP Werlin — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:55:16 +0000

I agree,organization and follow through are key to succeeding on your own or as part of a small business. This should be one key competitive advantage in your 1-person arsenal. Time allocation is key and I always like seeing what tips and tricks people come up with. I have also heard of the Cisco trick mentioned by Robert S. used in order to make sure you find time to work out in the day - as most solo/small ventures are long days clocking in at 10+ hours. PipelineDeals.com and Freshbooks are working together to solve the 1/3 of time spent doing the admin grunt work - thus letting you decrease time spent on these vital but "not the reason I went out on my own" functions and spending more time on the "fun stuff". We invite you to take a look.

By: Productivity Tip: Schedule Meetings With Yourself

Productivity Tip: Schedule Meetings With Yourself — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:02:50 +0000

[...] Here is one of the best tips I’ve ever seen: A very useful time-management “trick” I learned while working at Cisco (after facing many long days in which all I did was participate in other people’s meetings back-to-back from 8am to 6pm) is to formally schedule meetings with yourself using Outlook or any scheduling tool. [...]

By: John Beales

John Beales — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 21:16:55 +0000

@Justin: It's not done yet, but something like you're looking for is coming soon courtesy of Mark Boulton. See his blog post or go right to the, (currently minimal), site. As for my workflow I try to get as much actual work done as possible all of the time. I am finding I have too much work to do so I don't spend too much time prospecting, (I should probably raise my rates). As for networking & blogging? I write when I have a good idea and try to keep in touch with friends and contacts when I can.

By: Justin Thorp

Justin Thorp — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:04:28 +0000

I think there is a real opportunity for someone to develop a web or software solution that makes the contract management and administrative side of the business easier.

It is my least favorite part of the job. I let out a large sigh and take a big drink of coffee when my boss reminds me to submit my hours on Monday morning.

Maybe we need another 37 signals application. :-p

By: Robert E Spivack

Robert E Spivack — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:58:53 +0000

A very useful time-management “trick” I learned while working at Cisco (after facing many long days in which all I did was participate in other people’s meetings back-to-back from 8am to 6pm) is to formally schedule meetings with yourself using Outlook or any scheduling tool.

No more than an hour or two long, but give each meeting a real topic or action item.

In addition to making your calendar full so others can’t automatically add you to their meetings (you get phone calls, I’d like you to join us for a meeting about X but your calendar says you don’t have any free time in the next few weeks….) creating events to accomplish specific activities formalizes them, even for yourself, and the computerized reminders help keep you back on track.

By: Dan Moore

Dan Moore — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:16:06 +0000

Hmmm… 10 days working + 10 days networking + 10 days contracts/administrivia = 30 working days a month! My goodness–what do you do in February?

I suspect that this breakdown varies immensely among virtual workers–I’m a software developer myself and tend to get into time and materials projects that last a few weeks, if not more. I can’t imagine charging three times my current rate. My workflow in that case is spend about 15 min a day recording time spent on the project, bill once every two weeks, which is about an hour of time generating the invoice, and about two weeks before the project ends, I’ll start looking for new work (typically emails to folks I’ve worked with in the past or know are looking for developers). As for networking, there’s no way I spend 1/3 of my time doing that–I think I spend an average of three hours a week blogging.

As I said, I suspect the workflow varies on the type of work you end up doing.