The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself (And Your Business)

Decoded: What Your Project Partners are Really Saying

The Intro

This time, we’re decoding one of your most overlooked project partners: you. 

It’s that time of year again. 

You’re probably running on caffeine and crossed fingers. Your inbox is full of “just checking in before the break” emails. Install deadlines are stacked. Clients who ghosted you in October suddenly have a mile-long list of “urgent” decisions.

Meanwhile, someone inevitably asks if you’re taking time off, like your business has a built-in backup plan. Pffft. As if.

You might not be able to slow the chaos around you, but you can stop carrying all of it in your head.

The Ask

“I just want to feel like I’m not drowning all the time.”

That quiet little whisper? Designers may say it in different ways, but I hear it all the time:

• “I just need things to run more smoothly.”
• “I wish I didn’t have to chase every little thing.”
• “I’m so tired. I need to take a real break without everything falling apart.”

What They You’re Really Saying

“I need systems that don’t collapse the minute I step away”

When your way of doing things is actually written down, you stop being the only one who can keep the wheels turning. Things get done faster and your team, your clients, and your future self all breathe a little easier.

Call it an SOP if you want, but really it’s just a step-by-step cheat sheet for the stuff you shouldn’t have to explain 12 times.

Or re-learn every quarter…

If you do it all the time, the process needs to be written down. If you never remember how you did it last time? That needs to be written down, too.

Where It Goes Wrong

You’ve got processes, but they only exist in your head. And that head? It’s tired.

You’re fielding the same questions, chasing down the same links, and walking through the same steps over and over again. Instead of focusing on what actually needs your attention, you’re stuck rethinking how to do that one thing you figured out three months ago (and swore you’d write down later).

The mental load builds. The margin disappears. Even the simplest task becomes another thing to remember, rewrite, re-do.

The problem is that your processes don’t have a proper home. When everything lives in your head, your brain starts to feel like rush hour traffic with no off-ramp.

How to Solve It

You don’t need to create a 400-page ops manual. You don’t even need a perfect system. You just need to start capturing the tasks that are slowing you down, or the ones you wish you could delegate but can’t (yet).

Here’s how to begin:

• Pick one task that keeps tripping you up, either because you’re the only one who knows the right way to do it or because you forget how every time.
• Outline the steps like you’re writing them for a fifth-grader.
• Link to any templates, tools, or other information you normally have to dig to find.
• Save it somewhere you and your team can (and will) access it again

Don’t think of it like a chore list or a textbook. Think of it as your go-to process guide. A clear “this is how we do it” doc that makes life easier the next time around.

How Mydoma Can Help

Mydoma gives you a clean, streamlined place to build your step-by-step guides and store the information you need along the way:

• Project Calendar – Visualize the “when” behind every process

• Tasks – Break down big steps into bite-sized checklists with deadlines and ownership

• Products – Store specs, pricing, and sourcing info in one place
• Order Tracking – Turn your shipping process into a system you don’t have to babysit. 

Mydoma doesn’t just hold your processes; it makes them usable so your business runs with you, not because of you.

Plug & Play Tip

Try this before you log off for the holidays:

Don’t overthink your first process doc. Just record yourself doing one task.

Open Loom (or any screen recorder), hit “record,” and walk through the steps as if you were explaining it to a fifth-grader (clear, simple, no skipped steps).

Mine usually go something like this:

Okay, this is how I [send a product approval, record payment, check shipping status, etc]. The first thing you need to do is…”

I like to make sure my first step is really the first step whoever is following along would actually need to take. So, for example, instead of starting with “go to the Shipping Report in Mydoma,” I might say “log into Mydoma, click on this Reports icon on the left-hand side, and then click on Shipping Report.” 

When you’re done:

1. Open a new Google Doc in your shared drive or How-To folder.
2. Give it a clear, searchable title (think about how someone might search for it later). For example: How to Check and Update Your Incoming Shipments Shipping Report
3. Grab the video link and paste it into the doc.
4. Copy the auto-generated transcript (Loom and Zoom Clips generate the transcript for you).
5. In ChatGPT (or another AI), open a new chat and type in this prompt:

“Please turn this transcript into a how-to that I can paste into a doc and add screenshots to:”

1. After you type in the prompt, paste the transcript into the box and hit enter.
2. Copy the response and paste it into your Google Doc.
3. If you’re picky like I am, clean up the transcript a bit to make sure the words are correct (auto-transcriptions don’t always get everything right).
4. Feel free to add screenshots now or later when you have more time.

That’s it! One repeatable task off your plate and out of your brain. 

Bonus: I know it’s easier when you can see an example, so I’ve recorded an example Zoom Clip about how to check your shipping report in Mydoma and turned it into a how-to doc. You can watch the video and check out the How-To here. It took me about 10 minutes from beginning to end, mostly because I also added screenshots to mine. 

Want to Start the Year with Less Chaos?

You deserve a business that doesn’t rely on your memory to function. 

Your future self doesn’t need more hustle. You need a roadmap. A playbook. A simple, repeatable way to run things without running yourself  ragged.

Explore how Mydoma can help you step into the new year with a lot less “Where did I put that?”

Want help getting started with your first (or next) process doc? Find out more on the Poised & Plumb blog.