Admin is Cool

Administration. Such a dowdy, grey word. A soul sucking endeavour, reserved for only the most banal and uninspired. That was certainly my view for a long time. Let's drop these accusations however; there is in fact much to be admired.

When I first started my business, I did not put too much (i.e any) thought into administration. It was just something that Had To Be Done. Like taxes. Or breathing. There was nothing to get excited by. If anything, it felt like a tragic waste of billable time.

seeking zen, with folders

That's not to say I dismissed it entirely. I just failed to recognise its true value. Take project management, something I'm very familiar with. I always took time to create a logical filing system, legible notes, and a regular rhythm of communication.

The benefits were always so obvious. Projects were calmer, clients were happier and I was generally more zen. In contrast, I'd always dread taking over a project started by someone else. The worst offenders would have their paper files strewn across their desk and digital files spread all over the internet. It was like a force 5 hurricane had just rocked into town.

Yet I considered administration only a beige, provincial activity. Worthy of a project of course, but to be avoided elsewhere. I simply did not want this darkness to corrupt my precious creativity (obviously). Once I was working for myself, I naturally failed (or simply did not want) to extrapolate corporate tidiness across my whole operations. If I can offer one (measly) excuse, the issue was not immediately apparent.

Things were going swimmingly until I was juggling 6/7/10 jobs at once. Individual jobs were purring along. But the overall structure was frankly tragic. I presented like a majestic swan to clients. Seemingly cruising with ease, yet paddling furiously beneath. And frequently gasping for breath. The unnecessary friction was burning me out, and putting my business at risk.

So what to do? At first I spent a weekend creating folders, subfolders and templates at-the-ready. Not the most exciting use of free time, of course. But soon I had everything well organised on my local machine, a hub of Business Success™. All seemed well and happiness was restored. There was legal folders, expenses subfolders, tax spreadsheets, strategy sections too. But I soon found myself neglecting the system, updating sporadically.

So I thought I'd jazz things up a bit. A cloud version of my tidy desktop! I could upload files on the go, like a paragon of efficiency. I'd be the envy of my peers with my office-in-a-mobile. Again, all seemed well. Business Success™ surely assured. And yet, the process was just hideously boring. My entrepreneurial zest would just wither on the vine, as I observed a vast sea of yellow folders and identikit icons. The was an overwhelming feeling of ugh.

iterating with emojis

Enter notion. I became acquainted with Notion by pure chance, whilst aimlessly browsing twitter (sometimes it actually helps!). I was instantly drawn to the simplicity and flexibility of their offering. Instead of monotony, there was emojis. Instead of endless folders, colourful galleries! It took a split second for me to subscribe and get to work.

I've only been using this platform since March 2020, yet the benefits are already immense. Administration is now a creative, energising endeavour. I've been able to weave together my entire operations into a single coherent workflow. From taxes to business registration, from strategy to project management. Everything under one umbrella. It is a robust back-end to complement my digital presence.

That's not to say I've put my entire company in the hands of one platform. Instead I embed data from my existing tools (g-drive, Dropbox etc.) to build an attractive navigational layer through Notion. I update frequently, both via desktop and their handsome mobile app. Why? Because I actually want to. I feel grubby if I don't check into my planner or financial wiki. Really, who knew that you could generate so much zen from business organisation?

So it turns out that admin is actually very cool. And the best part comes next. By creating an engaging and colourful workflow, I am motivated to iterate further. I'm now regularly using kanban boards, a concept that I usually associated with Silicon Valley. I'm now creating shared workspaces, something that had felt too cumbersome with Microsoft. I'm now aware of platforms like Airtable and Whimsical. With every passing day I challenge myself to be cooler. It's actually great fun.

So to wrap up, lets just step back a little, and consider the bigger picture. Hell, lets even get that soapbox out. Tech culture and ingenuity is now reaching wider and further. There exists a digital ecosystem that brings a sense of joy to the most unlikely of tasks. And with joy, comes motivation. With motivation, comes innovation. With innovation, comes growth. And with growth, comes meaning. Now that's big picture.

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Check out their video walkthrough for a remote work setup;

Signing out. Steven.

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