Last summer, I had to build a fence because we had gotten a dog the previous Christmas, and the fence that we had did not keep anything out or in. So we were gonna hire somebody, but my father-in-law and my brother-in-law told me that this was something that we could do, which I felt they really overestimated my ability here. But when we built the fence, my brother-in-law brought a tool called an auger, which basically allows you to quickly drill holes deep enough to sink the posts you need for the fence. And without the auger, it would have taken a lot more time. But if my brother-in-law had just dropped off the auger and said, have fun, see you later, that would have not built the fence for me. I would probably just have a bunch of holes in my yard And a very serious injury because the tool is not the solution to the problem. The tool didn't give me the knowledge to build the fence. For that, we needed the system.
We needed something more than the tool. And that's what I want to talk about today. Hey everybody, and welcome to the Streamlined Solopreneur, where I help business owners stop doing everything themselves, saving 25 hours a month, So they can focus on what really matters. And today I want to tell you that the tool is not the solution. And in order to illustrate this, I want to talk about 3 prolific book writers. I guess authors is the term I should use here, right? 3 prolific authors, James Patterson, George R.R. Martin, and Stephen King. James Patterson writes in pencil on yellow legal pads.
At least that's what I remember from the masterclass I took. But he handwrites his books, and so he gives his books or his yellow legal pads to his assistant and types them up, or he'll dictate them over the phone. And yes, he also has co-writers, so they will draft some of the books for him. But this is how he's always written, and he puts out several books per year. So you might say, oh, he is using the most primitive tool possible, as well as having a system to make the rest of the book happen. George R.R. Martin writes in WordStar 4.0 on DOS with no internet connection, and he says it does everything he wants and it doesn't do anything else. So he has been using the same system probably since he wrote or helped write Beauty and the Beast.
But George R.R. Martin is about 15 years behind on his latest book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. A Dance with Dragons came out in July 2011. The book The Winds of Winter is still unpublished 15 years later. And guess what else started to take off around the time A Dance with Dragons came out? Game of Thrones, the TV show. So he was once able to average 150 pages a month when he was writing A Storm of Swords, and he says his pace has slowed a lot since then. The same tool he's been using for decades, but very different output. The tool is not the thing that made him write.
What helped make him write was focus and fewer distractions. Now, Stephen King Takes a different approach, right? He writes every day while he's working on a book and then not at all between books. This is something that he— this is from Goodreads. He tries to write every day while he's working on the book, and he— and it says he does about 2,000 words a day. Stephen King, we don't know the tool he uses. We just know he has the habit of writing. So 3 authors, 3 different approaches. 3 different types of output, right? Stephen King is not putting out the number of books James Patterson puts out, but Stephen King very likely doesn't have ghostwriters on most of his books.
George R.R. Martin has written the most popular fantasy series since Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter. It's in that echelon, and he hasn't released the next book in the series. People think it's not gonna happen. The tool is not the solution. So how do we get there? Well, before we do, I know that many of you struggle to find time to even start thinking about this. You just, you grab a tool because you think it's going to be the magic bullet. It's going to be the thing that finally lets you get the work done.
But we know that's not true now. And I want to make figuring out the actual solution as easy as possible for you. Which is why I have the Solo Ops Roadmap. In one 60-minute call, I will learn how you work and how you can save 25 hours each month. Then I'll give you a prioritized list so you know where to start, including something you can take action on the same day you get the roadmap. Imagine getting the roadmap and then instantly freeing up an hour or two. That's what I am delivering to you with the Solo Ops Roadmap. If that sounds great to you, you can book yours at streamlined.fm/roadmap, but I would encourage you to hurry.
I only have a limited number of these spots available each month. So if you want to book yours as soon as possible, make sure to grab a time over at streamlined.fm/roadmap. Okay. So the tool is not the solution. It's the system you build around the tools. And a really good example of this is my client Laura. She is a podcaster and community builder. She has a show called Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.
And when she came to me, she had a ton of tools. In fact, way more tools than she needed to get the job done. So the first thing we did was sit down and figure out how she works and what she does. And then we eliminated all of the tools she didn't need and built a system around the ones that will actually help her do the work. At the end of our engagement, she said that she not only saved more money than she spent hiring me because we saved her Possibly thousands of dollars in software subscriptions. But now she has the time to do things like hang out with her grandchildren or eat soup with her aging mother. So how do you get to a point where you realize the tool is not the solution? I mean, the first thing I recommend is you understand how you work. And so I have a system called the Daily 3 Task Journal.
It's really simple. Every day, write down 3 things you plan to accomplish each day, and then check in with yourself halfway through the day and check in with yourself at the end of the day and see how it went. When did you feel the most productive? What caused friction in your day? What did you try to do but couldn't do? What interrupted your day? When did you work best? Those are the types of questions that you can ask yourself. And I say 3 tasks per day because I think if we try to do more than that, we're just kind of setting ourselves up. For failure. But if you feel like you have too many tools, or maybe the tools are causing the friction, I do have another solution for you. And this is a free resource I put together called the Tool Debt Worksheet. So you can get that over at streamlined.fm/tdw.
It's free. You just put in your email address. And this is something that you can do over the course of about an hour, maybe. Where you review all of your tools. You write down if you use them, need them, and like them, and how you use each one. And the reason that this is a helpful exercise, even though the tool is not the solution, is because it's going to force you to think about why you have the tool. Maybe somebody said, oh, you got to download Amy. It's a great tool.
And you downloaded it and you loaded some stuff into it and you're paying for it, but you don't really know why. Or, hey, you've got to use Notion. So you set up Notion and then Notion got really scary and you just stopped using it altogether. So write down how you use each one and why you have each one. And now you can start to think about how you're working and the actual thing that will solve the problem. So that's step 1, look at all your tools. At the very least, at the end of this tool debt audit, you will have a bunch of tools that you can eliminate and save a bunch of money on. I just did this last week and I saved $400 per year.
So check it out over at streamline.fm/TDW. I will put a link in the description below. So that is, that's the solution. And you probably heard a number of things that I said that make you wonder, is this something that you can do? How do I figure out how I work best? How do I even know what tools I need? How do I know? What tools are out there? If the tool's not the solution, how do I know what system to build? And that is why I offer private coaching and consulting. I use my signature Streamlined Solopreneur System framework to help you set goals, understand how you work best, and organize your business. Then I build a system that works for you. I teach you how to use it, we refine it, and then I hand it off to you with everything you need to confidently keep using it. That is my guarantee to you.
I'm not just going to give you a Notion template and bounce. I am going to build you a system that works best for you that you will actually use. That's the important part. And we walk through my whole framework. We set your goals. I help you understand the mindset that you don't need to do everything yourself. You don't need to be involved in every decision. And then we organize your business, build the system, and we scale through automation and delegation.
The result of this is that you'll have 25 hours back each month to write your book, to spend time with your family, or maybe just touch some grass. If this sounds like something you need, I offer free, no-pressure strategy calls, just something to see if we would work well together. If this is something I think would be really good for you, If you— for you to evaluate me. You can book your free, no-pressure strategy call at streamlined.fm/strategy. But that's it for this episode of The Streamlined Solopreneur. If you liked this episode, if you know somebody who needs to hear this, share it with a friend. Be sure to check out the resources I mentioned. They're all going to be in the description below.
Thanks so much for listening. And until next time, I hope you find some space in your week.
