When your system makes you want to scream 🙀
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"I made this project list in ClickUp… and I hate looking at it." One of my clients said this recently, and I could hear the frustration in her voice. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Your system isn't broken—it's fighting back. Why Good Systems Go BadWhen a system starts feeling like punishment instead of support, it's usually one of three things: 1. Visual Overwhelm You've got fields for every possible scenario, views for every angle, and colors for every priority. What started as "comprehensive" became chaotic. Your brain takes one look and says "nope." 2. Guilt-Inducing Dashboards Your dashboard shows everything you haven't done, haven't started, and haven't even thought about yet. Instead of clarity, you get shame. Instead of direction, you get overwhelm. 3. Built for "Ideal You" vs. "Real You" You designed it for the version of yourself who reviews projects daily, updates statuses religiously, and never gets behind. But real you has ADHD, busy weeks, and sometimes just needs to get things done without administrative overhead. The 3-Part System Refresh FrameworkWhen your system starts fighting you, don't scrap it, refresh it! 1. Audit the Noise Open your project tool and ask: "What am I actually using?" Those 12 custom fields? You probably touch 3. Those 8 different views? You live in 2. Strip away everything that doesn't serve your real workflow. 2. Simplify the UI Your dashboard should guide, not guilt. Hide completed projects unless you need them. Remove status categories that stress you out. Change colors from urgent reds to calm blues. Make your first view show you exactly what needs attention today—nothing more, nothing less. 3. Rethink Your Home Base Ask yourself: "When I open this, do I know exactly what to do next?" If the answer is no, your system is working against you. Your main view should feel like walking into a clean, organized room where everything has a place and a purpose. Remember that client I mentioned?Here's What Happened:I could hear the defeat in that client's voice. She'd done everything "right"—built comprehensive templates, set up detailed tracking, organized everything perfectly. But opening her project tool felt like facing a wall of judgment about everything she hadn't done yet. We applied my System Refresh framework. We stripped away the 12 custom fields she never touched, keeping only the 3 she actually used. We changed her default view from "everything overdue" to "what needs attention today." We embedded her most-used tools directly into her workspace so she could stop jumping between platforms. The shift was immediate. "Oh wow, I can actually see this embedded right here?" she said, genuinely surprised. By the end of our call, she was asking "Can we automate this reminder?" and "How do I set up that template?" The same system that had been silently shaming her was now quietly supporting her. What changed? We stopped building for the version of herself who would update every field religiously, and started building for the real person who just needed to get things done without administrative overhead. Your system doesn't have to fight you.If you're avoiding tools you built to help you, that's not a personal failing—it's a system design problem. And system design problems have solutions. Book a Strategy Session to identify what's making your tools feel like punishment instead of support. We'll diagnose the resistance, apply the System Refresh framework, and create a clear plan to make your systems work with your brain, not against it. Includes 7 days of follow-up support to make sure your refreshed system actually sticks.
What's one system in your business that's been fighting you lately?Hit reply and tell me about it - I read every response and often get my best newsletter ideas from what you're dealing with. Wishing you smooth systems this week, Dr. Monica |