#hey

So how do I do it? How do I stay focused on a project when working with a client on their project while working remotely?

Being a nomad, you can’t lug around a 27" screen everywhere, so you have to improvise. And I do that with my 13" MacBook Pro.

I’ve been using a single 13" screen for as long as I care to remember. I find it very portable and can do anything and everything on it.

I start by creating a client profile in Brave. That way I can keep every client separate, and remove distractions from my own environment.

The browser tabs are organised for the tools, website and services I only need for that client project. And my Basecamp and HEY apps are always in pole position.

Time tracking is not something I worry about too much, as my fee is always fixed as I never need to supply my hours.

But I just keep track of the hours inn HEY for myself, that way I can optimise my day and future projects.

Basecamp does have an add-on for time tacking, but I don’t require the vast feature set it has, so I can’t justify the cost.

Again, for me the 13" screen is perfect. It’s small, nimble and I’m able to adjust my workspace to whatever project I’m working on.

How do you organise your digital workspace?

As you’re aware, I use Basecamp for the foundation of my business. My client project collaborations, CRM and so on.

I also use HEY as my only email service because of the feature set, its simplicity and how it fits my workflow.

But I’ve recently started using HEY as a lite ‘pre-CRM’, for the times I need to track the smaller projects.

So I setup a Workflow with the same stages I have in my Basecamp CRM and started testing it out to see if it’ll work.

Within HEY there is the ability to add notes for the email. I use this to jot down any information about the client, stage and general notes.

I’m pretty happy with it so far as it’s simplified my workflow. Its removed the need of clicking through different apps to do the simplest thing.

Be aware though, this is my personal workflow. I’ve created it over many many years to how MY brain works. So it’s not for everyone.

If you’re interested in creating a workflow for your business. And want help to remove tech friction and regain your time, let’s talk!

I was one of the first people on the list when Basecamp announced HEY. I was intrigued, and excited and couldn’t wait to get my hand on a simpler email workflow.

Paid for the first year, got a fantastic alias and there I was using Hey for the year. But, the year wasn’t without issues, but I persevered and it worked out fine.

‍Yet, after the year was almost done, I found that I wasn’t using the features as intended. And if you know me, I love email, and the simplicity of the technology as well as being accessible to all.

‍So I didn’t renew my subscription and went back to my trusted Apple Mail app.

‍Over the following year, I found that it was becoming more reliable. And the features were getting better. So at the beginning of the year, I signed up for it again hoping that my workflow would get with said new features.

‍But alas, no. I found myself struggling with too many clicks to do the simplest of things. Also, I know how to use email.

Heck, I even get hired to help those in need of email simplicity!

‍So after a month or so, I gave up.

‍It’s not you HEY/Basecamp, it’s me. I prefer simplicity over complicated/over-engineered tools.

We all love human interaction. The warmth of the voice, the glee we feel when we’re wanted.

But at what cost?!

HEY has a Screener feature that I love and can’t imagine ever going back to a ’normal’ email client/service. It’s made my email life so much simpler by weeding out unwanted or unimportant emails.

The company I’ve run for the past 14 years has accumulated over 6000 clients, and it’s been a fantastic journey. Still, alas, I’ll be sunsetting MacJunky pretty soon as my current venture is taking me in a great new direction, so I’ll need to focus more on that.

So having all my past clients contact me via telephone is distracting me from helping my new clients. So I was thinking of a way to quash the ‘can I ask you a quick question’ type of calls I continuously get.

Don’t get me wrong. I love hearing from people, but… I’m not always available, and I don’t think it’s fair for the client I’m currently with for me to drop everything off and pick up a call, right?

If the phone is constantly ringing, the caller can also get a little annoyed. So I’ve decided to delete all my contacts from my phone.

The reason for this is so I can use the Silence Unknown Callers feature on my iPhone (shown above)

This will send the caller that’s not in my contacts directly to my VM so I can focus on the task I’m on and get back to the caller when I’m not so busy. I’ll experiment with this and post an update in a month or so.

One might say, why just not accept the call? Well, the phone ringing is a distraction in itself, and if you’ve been following me and my videos, you’ll know that I think notifications of any kind are a distraction to your life.