Yup, you heard me right, I outsourced all the words you’re reading right now. Well…I didn’t technically do that. It’s just that I originally captured them via audio, and then had someone turn them into text.
Every morning, I have the same routine:
- Wake up and make espresso
- Shower and get dressed
- Sit and chat with my girlfriend.
- 8:42 am, she leaves for work.
9 am: I sit down on my armchair and meditate for 10 minutes using the app, Headspace. I sink into each meditation with a certain intention; whether it’s a new goal, recent loss, current challenge, or even a gratitude. Throughout my meditation, my fast moving highway of thoughts get turned into a steady stream of clarity. My brain can finally be at peace enough so my mouth can catch up to it.
After those 10 minutes of meditation are complete, I stand up and turn on my phone.
Well, I don’t really turn on my phone, I press the red circle on my phone’s voice recorder and pace around the room talking into it.
My phone is my megaphone, and is also my greatest listener. It allows me to ramble, back pedal, and connect the dots that just became clear during meditation. Instead of having to write a list of who or what those dots could mean, my audio recorder takes notes so that I don’t miss a beat.
After my 10 minutes of pacing, I take the audio file and send it halfway around the world.
Around the world?
Yes. I upload it to Upwork.com. Upwork is the world’s largest freelancing website, making it easier to get work done anytime, anywhere. They have freelancers ranging from creative, to data entry, to accounting, to virtual assistant, to transcription.
My favorite transcriptionist is Samuel Okello and lives in Nairobi, Kenya. Every morning, I send Samuel 10 minutes of audio recording, and he sends me a word document with roughly 1,050 words.
Yes, we churn out around 1,000 words every single day!
Best part is, it only costs me $5.
Upwork.com has enabled me to create content at scale, using nothing more than my voice. For too long, I went through life in a blur, not taking time to pause and capture the daily ups and downs.
Ever since I interviewed Mike Jaindl in my article “Start your day with OUTPUT”, I’ve seen an improved quality of life and an increase in my ability to manage my time effectively.
- I meditate every morning.
- I write (audio) close to 1,000 words per day.
- I don’t take any meetings before noon.
- I don’t take any meetings on Wednesday.
This system isn’t for everybody, but it works for me and I hope it will inspire you to take 20 to 30 minutes of your day to create content too.
If you’d like help with this system or other ways I’ve found beneficial to work smarter not harder, please email me, I’d love to help you with it.
Hope y’all are having a phenomenal day on earth. Remember; it’s your world, Go Explore.
With Love and Pasta Sauce,
Chris Schembra
P.S. The one thing that I will never outsource is reading. Here are some of the favorite books I’ve read recently:
- Under New Management by my good friend, David Burkus.
- Booked and Connect by my good friend, Josh Turner.
- Stand Out by my good friend, Dorie Clark.
- Promote Yourself by my good friend, Dan Schawbel.
- Start with Why by Simon Sinek.
Originally published at medium.com