Hey! 

One of my favorite quotes in business is one I live by as a freelancer. 

"You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems." -James Clear

Systems-forward thinking can be a bit uncomfortable for people new to freelancing, especially if you come out of employment where goals get a lot of emphasis and are often passed down to you from other parts of an organization. 

As freelancers, a systems-forward perspective is a critical mindset shift. It not only gives us a strong foundation, but also keeps us on the simplest and most effective path to growth and adaptation. 

This month, we’re going to be talking about developing and keeping a systems-forward mindset, especially early in our freelance journey. 

Managing multiple systems

As a freelancer, you’re working with multiple systems. We talked before about bookkeeping, lead gen, client intake, etc. They all work together and inform each other. You’ll get the opportunity to shape each to your needs and lifestyle goals. 

So, for example, if you absolutely hate bookkeeping, that might be a place you want to start building and refining. If you find you’re spending way too much time on lead gen, you might want to prioritize this one. Personally, network nurturing is a lot of emotional work for me, so that’s where I put a good amount of focus. 

Regardless, the nice thing is that you get the opportunity to build systems that not only work together, but also work to make reaching your goals and addressing your needs easier. 

If you need some insight from others on how they’re managing systems in their freelance work, come by the Discord and say hi. 

Megan (Nutmeg)

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