Tiny Tweaks, Big Payoff: 4 System Shifts for a Smoother Business

In today's episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on four small (but mighty) systems tweaks that have made my business feel smoother, calmer, and way more me. These aren’t shiny new tools or complicated funnels. I’m talking about simple shifts that helped me stop fighting my own energy and start designing a business backend that supports the way I actually work. 

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Transcript

Jacki Hayes  00:00

Hey there. Welcome to Here's What I Learned. I'm Jacki Hayes, a system strategist, unapologetic, smutty romantasy, lover, Dungeons and Dragons geek and your no-BS Guide to building a business that works for you. This is the place where we swap stories, share lessons, and get real about the highs and lows of creating a life and business that actually feels good. No cookie cutter advice here, just honest conversations about what's working what's not, and how to rewrite the rules to fit your version of success. So grab your favorite beverage, get comfy, and let's dive in. 

Jacki Hayes  00:40

Hey, folks, it's Jacki, and today I'm walking through a few tiny system tweet, emphasis on the systems part that have made my business smoother, calmer and actually feel like it fits me. I'm not talking a shiny new tools or complicated funnels. I'm talking about rethinking how I structured the back end of my business so that it supports my capacity, not just my output. The big aha for me was that your system is an air table or honey book or click up. It's how everything connects and flows together. Your system actually equals your process, your policies, your preference, your tools and the way they work together to support a specific outcome. Tools are just the vehicle. The system is the whole journey. Now I like to use the analogy of baking a cake. When you bake a cake, you need your small appliances, your ingredients, you need a workspace, you need time to put the ingredients together, put them in the oven, you have an entire set of interlocking elements that work together to create that cake. All of that is your system. Once I started thinking that way, I stopped jumping from platforms, from one project management system to another, from one CRM to another, and I started building things that actually worked for me. 

Jacki Hayes  02:02

Now, tip number two is designing for my actual capacity. When I first started my business, there were many occasions where I could feel burnout coming on. I recognize the signs when I start to get distracted, when I can't be very creative, when I have brain fog, and I realized that I needed to get real about how much energy I have per season, per week, per day, which was ironic, because this is something I had been helping my clients with from the very beginning, what I learned about myself was that I need deep focus blocks and I don't switch tasks very well. It's very hard for me to design. Go from designing admin and calls, that's all mental whiplash for me. I like batching my work, and I'm more creative when I have non desk time. Hello library days and coffee shop mornings. Now, all of that is baked into my systems, my client delivery timelines, my scheduling links, my project planning templates and even my autoresponders. 

Jacki Hayes  03:06

Tip number three, setting and communicating office hours. This one's simple but powerful. I determined when I would be available for others, and decided that those would be my office hours. Now I used to say I had office hours, but nobody knew what they were, including me. Now I have them in my contracts. They're in my onboarding emails, in my email signature, and they're in my email autoresponder. I use Schedule send to work when I want to work, but only appear available during office hours. And I also use tech to support these boundaries, specifically on my iPhone, using focus modes, app restrictions and do not disturbs, so I don't get sucked in. I know myself well enough to know that if I see a notification on Voxer, I'm going to want to respond immediately. Does this stop the temptation? Not completely, but it does help a lot. 

Jacki Hayes  04:03

And tip number four, the final tip, map the process so you can template the magic. The light bulb moment for me was when I actually sat down and mapped out the steps of my internal projects like booking podcast guests. It's way easier to spot the repeatable pieces when you do this. So for example, booking guests for this very podcast. Now I have templates for every step you're booked. Here's what to prep your episodes live. Feel free to share this swipe copy. This doesn't just save me time. It keeps the guest experience thoughtful and consistent, even if I'm juggling a million other things, and it works for client facing stuff too. Internal projects, client delivery workshops, launches once you know the steps, you can support them with reusable tools like email templates, checklists or workflows. Ask yourself, what actually needs to happen here? Then add structure. To support it. This also gives you space for intentional personalization, because you're not reinventing the wheel every time, just choosing which custom touches to layer in. These tweaks might sound small, but they've had a massive ripple effect in my business. I'm more focused. Clients know what to expect. I have fewer ugh moments. Your systems don't need to be perfect. They need to feel like you. So ask yourself, What's one tiny system tweak I can make this week to reduce friction or support my energy? 

Jacki Hayes  05:36

Thanks for hanging out with me on Here's What I Learned. If today's episode gave you an aha moment, a laugh or something to think about. Make sure you're subscribed to my email list, that's where I share even more tips, stories and behind the scenes insights to help you simplify and thrive and remember you get to do business and life your way until next time, keep experimenting, keep simplifying and keep learning.