Latest / Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs / Save 10 Hours A Week With Systems That Stick

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Save 10 Hours A Week With Systems That Stick · Plan Like A Boss | Planning, Productivity, and Strategy for Entrepreneurs

• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's usually where I like to start, right?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so like the three signs that you have AI brain rot, and this is what I work through with solopreneurs too.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how do you, how do you know if you are using AI too much?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is you can't think about something for more than five minutes before running to a large language model with for advice, right?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, like if you can't sit in a problem, that is a problem, right?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: You're not number two is you're not talking to the people who matter.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you are like, okay, I'm designing a new product and I want it to be a group coach and cohort, and then instead of talking to your customers, you just ask Claude, that's a problem.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: You need to talk to the people you serve.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then number three is you have no skin in the game.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the one that got me the worst, right?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is like I spent all of this time with Claude.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I just signed up for co-work and I'm like, oh, what can it do?
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm paying a hundred bucks a month.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably amazing.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Plan Like a Boss.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here today with Joe Casabona, and he helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so that they can take time off worry-free.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: A TEDx speaker and former teacher, he's helped hundreds of solopreneurs save 10 to 15 hours a week through his podcast, newsletter, and consulting.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Joe, welcome to the show.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Who wouldn't want to save 10 to 15 hours a week, right?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited to be here.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I like to start these interviews by asking my guests to tell us their story because everyone has such an interesting story in how they got to where they are.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we can learn so much from that.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: So can you tell us a bit about your background, your story, how you got to where you are now?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I will give uh the most abridged version, I think, but uh I got into technology at a very young age.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um I really uh was like messing around with our family computer and and loved that I could solve problems with this computer.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um I became a web developer because my church came to me and asked if I could make a website, and I said no, and then they they said, I'll pay you, we'll pay you.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yes.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was 14, right?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: All I had was time.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you're gonna pay me 200 bucks?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then I did that for 20 years, right?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: I got my master's in software engineering.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I really loved the programming side of it.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I had kids, and kids change everything.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're doing web development for an agency where they're saying you gotta work late and work weekends, I knew that it was time for me to kind of switch careers.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went out on my own.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: I tried to create a calmer business.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: The pandemic kind of messed that up.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: My wife is a nurse.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we actually, I tell people we bookended the pandemic with children because uh my son was born in July of 2020 and my daughter was born in uh my my our third child, uh, my youngest was born in December 2021.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um but I I in November of 2020 I had a panic attack because my wife being a nurse and working overtime and us having a a three-year-old and a six-month or a four-month-old or whatever, um, I couldn't work on my business.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was still half of our income, and things weren't getting done, and I was losing sponsors, and I ended up having a panic attack.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm crying on my kitchen floor, and my three-year-old brings me a bottle of water, and she says, uh, it's okay, Daddy.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, everything is gonna be okay.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And uh at that moment, I was like, this is not like she shouldn't have to do, I'm supposed to take care of you.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's when I created systems.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: I finally hired a VA.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I want to help other solopreneurs, small business owners realize, like, hey, we don't have to, this is not something we have to do by ourselves.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: We can get help.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And what would you do with that 15 hours a week, right?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so I I told you my youngest daughter was born December 2021, 11 months after my panic attack, and I took six weeks off for Christmas because I came from academia, and so the two weeks between Christmas and New Year's that you get, I always want to take that off.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I don't work that those weeks.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I took another month off to spend time with our newly enlarged family.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, and I think that's something so many people can relate to because when you're a solopreneur, you know, most people live in a two-income household these days and they need to.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: And and people like like me, I live in a one-income household.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: I am my income.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it it can get real scary at times, especially as the business starts to grow, you get growing pains and the overwhelm starts to creep in, and maybe you don't have the systems in place.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: It it can be really scary.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure you're not the first solopreneur who's been on that kitchen floor having a panic attack.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, thank thank goodness for your daughter, because children from the mouths of babes, you know.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: They don't know what's wrong, but it's gonna be okay.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be okay.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, um, I know you work with solopreneurs.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: So what is the first thing that you look at when someone comes to you and and they're on that panic attack verge and they are drowning in their business?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: What is the first thing to dive into?
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, uh you like usually it's it's their belief system, right?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's the the limiting beliefs that they have that they have to do everything themselves.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like this, right?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: If I want it done right, I gotta do it myself.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh nobody can do things as well as I can, right?
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I hate to break it to everybody who thinks that, but that is true for a very small percentage of the things that you do.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um my VA, I learned, does a lot of things way better than I do.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so like I'm always like, I'm I'm like always checking in.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, is everything good?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you leave me, things are gonna be.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: She has a lot of leverage over me, if I'm honest with you.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like she knows.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like things will kind of crumble.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um so the first thing I do is I ask kind of what their typical week looks like, right?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what kind of work do you do?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you actually spending your time?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't know this, in preparation for our call, I want you to keep a yellow legal pad, right?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Or a notebook, whatever, handy.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And whenever you do something, write it down.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because like you can't fix a problem.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, like, how many of us go to a car mechanic and we're like, oh, I don't my car, there's something wrong with it.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's making it sound like brrr brr br, but it usually sounds like bah bah bah bah, right?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's crazy.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like you don't know if you can't fix it.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's the first thing.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we need to understand what your actual week looks like and who is and what tasks you're doing and who is stealing your time, how your meetings look.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then from there, that's when we can actually start to diagnose the problem and take small steps to save up an hour here, an hour there until it turns into like 10 to 15 a week.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And even if someone can do something 80% as well as you, which, like you said, most of the time it's better.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you, the first thing I did was hire a video editor for my YouTube channel, and she does a way better job than I ever would.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: But even if they could do 80% as well, it's gonna lift so much off of you that it's worth it.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's the thing, right?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, my be there's like I've changed my podcast publishing process so many times, right?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because like I'm trying, you know, and like that's part of why I do what I do, because I let I'm a tinkerer.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: I like tinkering.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so I will change things and talk about it.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so like, you know, there's some growing pains and and sometimes there will be things that fall through the cracks, or she didn't do this thing exactly the way I said it, or she did it like the old way, is most likely the case, right?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um but if I have to just go in and like double check, like, oh hey, are do the show notes look right?
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have to upload or create assets or find all of the show notes like that.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: She did all of that while I was sleeping.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, I I totally feel you on that.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it can, it just lightens everything.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: I myself the other day was editing a podcast, and I was like, why am I doing this?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: I need to find somebody to edit these podcasts for me.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody else can't show up and do them, but someone could certainly edit them.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely on my list.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: I've already reached out to a couple of people.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: I have a recommendation too, if you need to.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, good.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'll get it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: So now let me let me ask you this.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: When you're you're dealing with that solo preneur, and they know they need to hire, but maybe they can't afford to hire yet, or they can't afford to hire someone to do everything they need to do.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Automation is the next best thing, right?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do they start determining what they need to automate versus what they need to dole out to a very part-time VA versus what they need to do themselves?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I would actually say like automation is the first best thing because of what you said, right?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's a much lower barrier of entry, especially today, to automating stuff versus delegate, like versus hiring, right?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I like I do want to say, like, this is one of the reasons I was so resistant.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I don't want somebody's income to rely on me, right?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't like what uh what if I don't use them the right way, which is like definitely growing pains, right?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like I I'm mentioning this because it's top of mind.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: I posted about like automating and delegating on LinkedIn recently, and somebody said delegation often shows people the last like when people delegate, it usually shows them that they never want to delegate again.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, this is really funny coming from somebody who relies on client work, right?
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because clients are delegating to us absolutely the work, right?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, I mean, like don't be mad at delegation.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: You did it right.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: You mean your livelihood comes from that.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but automation, things that you can iterate more quickly, and now you can kind of like describe things to a large language model and and maybe have some automations done.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm I don't know if there's like there's probably just like a worldwide podcast drinking game where AI is brought up, but if you want to talk about that, we definitely can.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um to answer your question, I have a flow chart to determine, or like a decision tree to determine if you should automate something or delegate something.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so the way that that looks or works is the first thing you want to ask yourself is um do I personally need to do this?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I'm I really want to drive home the fact that the answer is going to be no most of the time, right?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Of course.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Unless the task requires your brain or your voice, you are not the only person who can do this task.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: So like like you said, Tanya, recording the podcast, you gotta do that.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Editing the podcast, hiring a podcast editor was the I was like sitting there lining things up, and there was audio drift, and I was like getting every um out, and my guest said um approximately 7,442 times.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um sorry, you're gonna have to take that out now.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, and I thought this is a task I am now dreading, right?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so I immediately hired an editor, and I I for my solo episodes, I plan those, and so I don't really I edit those because it's a light touch, and again, with transcript editing tools, it's a lot easier.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: But when I do interviews, I don't want to touch that with a with a hundred-foot pole, right?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh like somebody else can do that.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway, do you personally need to do it?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Does it require your expertise?
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: If yes, great, you keep that.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: If no, there are a couple more questions, right?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: The first is are you sending information between two or more applications?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is a great candidate.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And like this is a little oversimplification, but if you're just getting started, this is perfect, right?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: When someone fills out my scheduling form, I want that information to go to Notion, which is where my podcast planner lives.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: That is just a like 100% an automation waiting to happen, right?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: So are you sending information between two or more applications?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: If yes, that is we can keep going.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's a strong candidate for automation.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: If no, maybe it's delegation.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: It still could be, but for simplicity's sake, let's say you probably want to delegate that.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Does so you are sending information between two or more applications?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Next question: Does the task require simple, non-creative decisions?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I can we can talk about like the four components of an automation in a minute, but like uh I have multiple scheduling links, right?
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And the way that most schedulers work with like Zapier or Make or some other tool is they include the name of the scheduling link in what it sends to Zapier, but each one doesn't individually trigger a Zap, right?
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you basically, if I have a coaching call calendar and a podcast interview calendar and a catch-up with friends calendar, doesn't matter which one gets filled out, it's going to get sent to the same zap.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So if I want something to go to my podcast planner, now I gotta see, well, did they fill out my podcast scheduling link?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is a simple decision, right?
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: How should the pricing page be designed is not a simple decision.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's maybe one of the hardest decisions that people who have multiple pricing tiers have to work through.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if it does require simple non-creative decisions, yes, that is a candidate for automation.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: If no, that's a candidate for delegation.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, is the outcome always the same?
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the really important thing, right?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is the input predictable?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is the output predictable?
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Great, a robot can do this extraordinarily well.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Probably better than a human, because like if I'm always getting the same input, I'm always gonna do the same output.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: So though those are kind of the three questions.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just I know I walked through that decision tree a lot and I was like reading off of it because I I spent a lot of time on this language, and I wanna totally want to make it as clear as possible.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um but yeah, so it's like, do you need to do it?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sending information between two apps?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Does it require simple non-creative decision making?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: Is the outcome always the same?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Automate it.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Love that.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: That makes total sense.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: And having a dis decision tree like that is it's it makes it a no-brainer.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: It makes it so simple.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, now you're right, there's an AI drinking game out there right now, I'm sure.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: And this particular podcast has contributed to it quite a bit.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and what you're talking about is AI.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Zapier is AI.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I know a lot of solopreneurs get caught up on making things seem real and personal.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: And you were talking about deleting the ums.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: If the the ums aren't excessive, I just leave them in because that's how people talk.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it makes the conversation much more authentic.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: But I think something that a lot of solar printers don't realize is you can you can use AI and still be authentic.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it doesn't have to write everything for you, it can be part of that automation system you were talking about.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: So when solar printingers really get caught up on this, whether it be the I, you know, nobody can do it as well as me, or I don't want to use that sort of automation or someone else because it's not gonna sound like me.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: What advice do you give them?
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I am a strong proponent of AI is for tasks, not craft.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, a couple of those questions in my decision tree, simple decision making.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe with large language models, it could be a little more complicated than simple decision making, right?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: As far as I have this article called Three Warning Signs You've Got AI Brain Rot and How to Prevent It.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's usually where I like to start, right?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like the three signs that you have AI brain rot, and this is what I work through with solopreneurs too.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how do you, how do you know if you are using AI too much?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is you can't think about something for more than five minutes before running to a large language model with for advice, right?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, like if you can't sit in a problem, that is a problem, right?
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you're not number two is you're not talking to the people who matter.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you are like, okay, I'm designing a new product and I want it to be a group coach and cohort.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then instead of talking to your customers, you just ask Claude, that's a problem.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: You need to talk to the people you serve.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then number three is you have no skin in the game.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: And this is the one that got me the worst, right?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is like I spent all of this time with Claude.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I just signed up for co-work and I'm like, oh, what can it do?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm paying a hundred bucks a month, it's probably amazing.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to come up with a content strategy for me.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, based on all of everything you know about me in all of my content and my goals, which by the way, like I hadn't talked to people about goals yet, right?
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, so like who knows?
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, come up with a content strategy.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then it came up with one, and I was like, Yeah, yeah, that sounds good.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Save its notion.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then I didn't implement it at all because I didn't care.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I didn't put thought into it, right?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and then I looked at it and I'm like, this is stupid.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: This I agreed to this.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is wild, right?
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: So those are the three signs and the way that I try to explain it to people to like prevent AI brain rot.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because like when it does something impressive, it's very impressive, right?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: And and then you start to think, oh man, this could do.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: I know a guy who says like he sends like short voice notes to his Claude agent, and then it comes up with ideas based on it and writes drafts, and then sends those drafts to him for review, and then he requests revisions and then it publishes it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, how do you put your name on this?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how do you like I had the idea for Facebook in 2002?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not walking around saying I made Facebook.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: I had the idea for Facebook and I didn't do any of the implementation.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, anyway, what what I try to remind people of is that AI is a computer app, right?
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: So, like my five tenants for AI philosophy, my five-point AI philosophy, right?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Don't use large language models for thinking work.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: Think that is what you you are the thinker, right?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, don't refer to what large language models do as thinking.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is a real, like, oh well, I was Claude was my creative partner and it was thinking, and it wasn't doing anything, it was doing word association.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is what it does, right?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, don't personify LLMs.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: You might have noticed, I don't say her or him, I say it.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: Or I call it the large language model, right?
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a person.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it is a computer and it's best for doing computer things.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like we need to that's what we need to remember.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so use it for things computers are good at.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Crunching a lot of data, looking for patterns, super good at that.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Connecting things.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: I just released a video on all of the connectors I have in Claude Cowork and how it helps me do stuff better.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's like that's how I recommend people use.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: I have other rules here, but like let's let's focus on that one, right?
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Use it for computer things, use it to surface interesting information.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then you use your brain in conjunction with that information.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, one of the things you mentioned earlier was don't ask Claude what your audience is thinking, you know, talk to your audience.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: And one way that I do use AI that that I love to use is I will I will get on calls with clients and my note taker records all of them.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I will upload all of the transcripts and say, dig through these and find common language.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it it saves me time that way.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: But once again, I'm talking to my clients, I'm using it to To comb the transcripts and save me a little time.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where it's this saved me a ton of time because I was like, oh, I got I like used it to make an iOS app called the Daily Three Task Journal.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I was all excited about it.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh man, maybe I should do like a cohort on like how to plan your weeks and how to manage your time.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like developing this idea, and then I sent it to the large language model.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, find language in my coaching and customer research folders to like give me like sales copy, right?
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: What language are they using around this?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the large language model was like nobody you've talked to talks about this.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh, so I shouldn't do this.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: One and you know, and it can really uncover things like that.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you were you were talking earlier about when you first start working with someone, you have them get that legal pad and start documenting every single thing that they do.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Do you find that there are some steps that they they miss or they gloss over when they're starting to work on their workflows?
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so usually I'll use the the yellow legal pad or whatever, right?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: If they're keeping a note, like an Apple note or something, um, as a starting point.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I'll say, okay, walk me through this, right?
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because usually they'll say, uh, okay, like for my podcast, um I'll find a guest and we'll schedule a time.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Well, hold on, hold on.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: How do you find guests, right?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Where do you find, do you research your guests?
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: How much time do you spend researching your guests?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: What's your do you email them?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Do you DM them?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: How do you schedule?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do you send a scheduling link or do you do like the email ping-pong thing where it's like, hey, uh, oh, does this time work for you?
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, I'm in Arizona in November, so who even knows what time it is right now?
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, there are a lot of things that they'll gloss over, and then I I go through.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, for those who don't know, Arizona's time zones are weird.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like half the state doesn't change their clocks, they just change time zones, but there's like one part of Arizona that does.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um so like, yeah, a lot of stuff gets glossed over, right?
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because they just are looking at the big picture stuff.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: And in order for us to build systems, we need to like drill down and say, well, how do you do this, right?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're doing like the email back and forth game and not using a call scheduler, like that's we're gonna save you.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have immediate returns on this investment, right?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: Now, we're dealing mostly here with solopreneurs or entrepreneurs with very, very small teams.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: And there's a lot of just mainstream productivity advice out there, but that doesn't always apply the same way to a one-person business.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, what is some of the advice that that may work great with mainstream productivity that's just not going to apply if you don't have that massive corporate infrastructure?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think this is a really good question, right?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and and a good example is I I just read, not just last year, I read Buy Back Your Time from Dan Martell, and like that book could have been summarized as one sentence, which is hire a team.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: And people don't want to do that, right?
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't want to, I don't want to hire a team.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: I have a VA, I have an editor, I have a thumbnail designer because I hate designing thumbnails.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: And like that's it, right?
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want someone's livelihood to fully rely on me, right?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so like I think the what I'm going to define as like the mainstream productivity device here, Tanya, and you like correct me if I'm wrong, is atomic habits, like form good habits, checklist manifesto is a book that is, I'm sure, wonderful, but like quoted in every business book ever.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it like makes it seem like the checklist will make you productive, right?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not going to, right?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's just going to be the thing that you look at that's like, hey, this is getting longer.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And again, the author whose name I've never said out loud and I'm not going to try right now, um, was a surgeon, right?
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, yeah, you need a checklist, like a checklist there is perfect, right?
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, I need to make sure I do all these things before I open someone's chest.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: But like, having a to-do list is not a productivity system.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: It it's it's just a to-do list.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so when it comes to solopreneurs, there are a few things that we really need to think about.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And one is how are we protecting, how are we protecting our time?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: A book I s a book I mention often is At Your Best by Carrie Newhoff.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: I like it's such a great book because it helps you understand that we really have like three modes we work in throughout the day.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: We have our green zone, uh, our yellow zone, and our red zone.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: And our green zone is when we are at our best.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is when we are firing on all cylinders.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it is the morning, right?
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: I wake, like I very frustratingly to my wife, wake up awake, right?
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you know what I mean.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I wake up ready to go.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, by like 7 or 7 p.m., my brain is melted, like fully melted in my skull.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and my wife like does her best work at night, right?
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, so you understanding like when you work best helps you protect your most important hours.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I have no meetings in the morning because I know this is when I'm going to do my best work.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: From like 7 a.m., 8 a.m.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: on the school day, like during the school year, uh, to like 11 a.m.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's me.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: No, like I don't open Slack.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: I try to keep the email at bay.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is when I do my focused work, right?
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: In corporations, like you can't do that, right?
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: You've got a bunch of people who are all working around the same hours, and you have somebody who emails you, and then they knock on your office door and they're like, hey, I just sent you an email.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, cool.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you understand how email works, but the fact that you email me means I'm gonna see that email.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like you didn't need to do this as well.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I think like that's like I've been talking for a while, I but I'll stop there.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that more than anything else is something that can really help solopreneurs, especially if they work at home.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: Which is also increasingly true.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: And and have a designated workspace even.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: That helps so, so much.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, now if someone is listening and they're they're ready to start fixing their systems and they want to start this week, like right now, where should they actually begin?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go back to like managing your time.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: One of the reasons I made this this iOS app that I mentioned, um, uh it's like in beta.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like it's not really for public consumption, but you can I'll give you a link to put in the show notes if you want.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, of course.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's like a notion template too.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: So like you don't need the iOS app, but it's like I'm not, I'm not trying to be in the business of managing of like supporting apps.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um so it is I call it task journaling, right?
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so I at the beginning of my day write down the three things I want to get done that day.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is something I stole from my boss Chris Lemma at my last agency job.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: He's a very smart guy.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um but like all you should ever expect to get done in a day is three things, right?
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: I there are some people who will pack their days out and then like they'll get like five things done, but they wanted to get ten done, and they're like, where like I didn't I didn't get everything I need to get done done.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, first, manage your expectations, right?
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh second, and the reason I like this app is because it it prompts you in the morning what three things are you going to get done today?
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: Halfway through the day, and you can set this time, right?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it's like 1240, like right after I eat lunch.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how's it going?
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Have you gotten anything done?
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: How are you feeling, right?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: So you just like write down, oh yeah, no, like a client called me and their hair was on fire, and I had to like put it out.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Or like I have a sick kid at home today and my wife is working, and so I'm not getting anything done.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then same thing at the end of the day.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, did you did you achieve all your tasks?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Why not, right?
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: And doing this practice for like a week will help you understand when you work best, what has distracted you, how often did you set out to do these three things and actually do them, right?
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's when you can start to say, okay, mornings are shot for me for whatever reason, right?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like ever like I'm in uh California or whatever, and the East Coast is already like like running on all cylinders by the time I get into the office, and this is when they want to meet.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I I need to, right?
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: I I would say try to protect your time as best as possible.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm on the East Coast, which is the best coast.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: So uh Me too.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm Central Time, but close enough.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so um so like just understanding that again kind of helps you, right?
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's like getting your car inspected, going back to that example.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, your tires are the you don't need to replace them right now, but the tread's getting low.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: Before winter, you're gonna want to replace those tires.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the last thing I want to ask you is I want you to think back to when you were first starting out.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: Knowing what you know now, what advice would you have given to that person?
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't say yes to everything.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: I literally just filmed a YouTube video about awesome.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's like, you know, I again I started my business at 14 and I had some I had some great influences, but like in college and like early adulthood, I had some bad influences that were they were like, if there's ever a way to make money, just do it, right?
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, like this one, like this, this is when I learned how to say no.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: This one guy was like, You're good with computers, maybe you could do this.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Oh, I don't really do that.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, Let me give you some advice.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: When someone offers to pay you to do something, you do it because it's money.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Yeah, but I can make more money doing this.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do you not understand opportunity cost?
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what a weird lesson to throw at me.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but like I was also a people pleaser, right?
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so I wanted to say yes.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that was a drain on my time.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that made me really, really realize, even though I knew at like 25 to say no more, but I didn't, the thing that forced me to was kids.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, there are humans whose life relies on me being responsible and present, right?
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I would say you need to protect your time.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: And the best way to do that is to say no to most things and say yes to the things that will allow you to make the biggest impact.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: That is such good advice.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, as you're out there listening, you know, do what do what Joe says.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, write down what you do, line it up, see what truly matters and truly needs you and what doesn't.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, keep planning like a boss.