How Easy Can a Process Be?

A process should include four things: Who does What, By When, and How.

I've been helping create processes with clients for... thirteen years. How on earth could it be that long? Time flies when you're having fun. :)

The first time I created a process it was with post-it notes. Little reminders for my first client for when he needed to do something and how. Let's just say that it didn't work super well... ​ But the simplicity was there. And I've tried to keep that simplicity over the years. ​ ​Because simplicity creates consistency.

First I'll answer the question I get a lot - when do I need to create a process?

I create a (simple) documented process anytime I'm assigning a task and if there is a repeatable task or project in my business. Each process answers the following question:

• Who

• Does What

• By When

• And How

Here's that that could look like:

The process for posting the weekly newsletter to ConvertKit:

1. Summer writes the newsletter on the Newsletter Google Doc using the list of topics on Notion.

2. Summer sends it a Slack message to Nayab that the Newsletter is written by Friday.

3. In Convertkit, Nayab duplicates the last week's newsletter, adds the new subject and copy, and then schedules for Tuesday at 9 AM EST it by Monday.

That's it. Now Summer knows that she needs to write the newsletter by Friday and let Nayab know when it is done. Nayab knows that she needs to duplicate the last week's newsletter and add the subject and copy by Monday and schedule it for Tuesday at 9 AM MST.

If you need more information, you can include screenshots or a simple screen recording (I use Loom A LOT).

Here's my rule for keeping processes simple: Just cover 80% of the process, don't go into 100% of the detail. Because it's so easy to make it complex and hard to follow when you include every detail.

And for keeping processes organized: I keep my processes for repeatable projects and tasks all on one Google Document and intentionally name them for search-ability, then put that document in a Google Folder that is shared with everyone on my team. You can also keep this in your project management software. Just keep it in one place where anyone on your team can access and update it (and knows how).

💡 Why this is important: Keeping processes simple helps you build the muscle for consistently documenting them which will help you delegate, which will lead to you working less and making more. (YEHAW!)

Try it out and let me know how it goes.

Here's to you getting Time Rich, Summer