A Day in the Life of Samara: Using myhaventime to create workflow efficiencies
myhaventime is inherently versatile. Whether you are a professional, creative, lifelong learner or teacher, the platform provides the tools and space for professional development, personal growth and lifelong learning.
In this article we’re introducing Samara, a successful marketing consultant who struggles to make time for personal development and interests amidst the demands of work.
Explore how Samara uses myhaventime in both professional and personal contexts to achieve efficiencies in workflow, streamline her client communications and make space for personal pursuits. You might discover how myhaventime could help you too, to enrich your own professional and personal development.
Creating workflow efficiencies with digital tools
After picking up a coffee en route, Samara settles at her desk at the co-working space, starts up her laptop and opens her inbox (mind you, not for the first time that morning - she’s already seen two pressing emails from clients on her iPhone). Methodically working through the important messages and deleting the various marketing emails from persistent brands, Samara has an ‘aha! moment’ for a project she’s been working on.
She opens her myhaventime dashboard, finds the ‘room’ created for that particular project and documents the thought before it escapes her.
After wrapping up emails, responding to outstanding messages in Slack and a WIP call with a regular client, she settles in to work on a project with a looming deadline.
Samara needs to locate the original brief she wrote for the designer. She signs into Google Drive and searches. No luck. She logs in and tries again with another account. Again no luck. After trying Dropbox and her Mac hard drive she is able to finally locate the file by searching an old email chain with her designer.
This scenario isn’t unique to Samara. The majority of us alternate between different software, applications and devices — meaning locating the correct file, piece of information or insight is obscured and time consuming.
myhaventime provides a simple interface for knowledge management and information architecture where all documentation and insights are consolidated into one centralised location.
By creating ‘rooms’ for each project or client, and uploading important documentation (aka ‘gems’) into each room, Samara is easily able to locate, retrieve and build upon ongoing projects. For someone immensely busy like Samara with valuable IP, this saves time and creates an environment for innovation - where no idea is lost or forgotten.
Streamlining client communication and collaboration
It’s later in the afternoon and Samara’s just spent three-quarters-of-an-hour on an impromptu Zoom call with a client for whom she just project managed a website development on Shopify. The client is struggling to adopt the new technology and Samara has had to walk them through the steps...again.
Knowing her deadline is imminent, she is frustrated knowing her time could be utilised more efficiently.
Project managing Shopify site builds is a regular component of Samara’s job which usually finishes with a client hand-over. With this in mind, myhaventime can be used to streamline and automate this process.
Samara can compile generic handover documentation - including a PDF guide and instructional video - and house these in a templated ‘Shopify Handover’ room.
Each time a website is completed, Samara can copy content from the templated room into a new team room and share with the respective client. Team rooms allow for multiple users to access and contribute to the content within, meaning if the client has anything to add, or any questions, they too can add to the room.
Not only does this negate the time spent on lengthy handovers or back-and-forth communication, facilitating this handover through myhaventime positions Samara as professional and thorough.
This same process of templating content and copying into a team room for each new client could be applied to:
- An onboarding series for new clients (including contracts, payment information and terms)
- Acquiring important information from the client (client questionnaires, sharing passwords, brand documentation)
- Sharing or monetising IP (a space to store and share the tools, models or ideas developed over time)
Prioritising personal growth and interests
Working into the evening, Samara eventually leaves the office and meets a friend nearby for a late dinner. On the tram she checks social media, and emails, and makes a mental list for tomorrow. When she finally does arrive home (exhausted), there’s hardly time to shower before she goes to bed and repeats it all again tomorrow.
Using myhaventime for knowledge management and client communication will create efficiencies in Samara’s day, meaning there is more time and mental capacity for her own interests - be it dinner with a friend or pursuing her passions of social justice and the arts. All things she enjoys but has little time for.
When myhaventime is in action and there is newfound space in Samara’s schedule, she can choose to activate the myhaventime virtual learning coach to prompt uploads to her social justice and arts boards. With so much priority on professional development and deadlines, it’s easy to forget that creating space for personal interests and the documentation of tacit knowledge is important for personal growth and self-awareness.
Enabling the virtual learning coach means that on a weekly basis Samara is reminded to add any ‘gems’ she has encountered during the week. This gentle reminder is habit-building. Samara may choose to reduce this prompt to once a month, when lifelong learning and documenting insights is a habitual part of her day and no longer overshadowed by the burden of work.
Do you lead a similarly busy life? Do you think there’s repetition in your workflow which could be streamlined? Do you want to spend more time on your passions and personal growth?
