How Small Steps Made a Big Impact

By Janel Kinlaw

Running a business as a solopreneur means wearing many hats and constantly juggling tasks, deadlines, and client needs. After eight years as a solopreneur, I’ve learned that it’s not always the big, dramatic changes that make the biggest difference—it’s the small, thoughtful changes to everyday processes that add up over time.

During this time, I’ve been working for multiple clients—managing multiple email addresses and calendars. I’ve learned what works well for me to track hours, tasks, and deadlines. Having separate physical notebooks and scheduling a set time every week to sync up my calendars has allowed me to track everything I needed. During most of that time, I have worked in my home office; it has evolved as I added a second monitor and a standing desk.

At the end of 2025, I found myself looking to change things slightly, while still providing the same level of support to my clients.

Physical Notebooks Became OneNote Sections

I started to move my meeting notes from physical notebooks into a OneNote Notebook with different sections for each client and volunteer work. At first this change felt out of place. But as I thought about it more, I had been using OneNote to document agendas and meeting notes for one client since I started with them. Why wouldn’t I use that same tool for my own business? Having everything in one spot allows me to reference agendas and notes more quickly than searching for the right page in my physical notebooks.

Printed Daily Planner to Google Tasks

I moved from using a printed daily planner to using Google Tasks to track what I need to work on each day. While I enjoyed using a pencil and paper to track tasks, if I couldn’t get the items done, I had to erase and write them on another day. And I had to remember to bring my physical planner with me if I worked outside of my home office. Now using a digital task app, I can simply adjust the due date quickly if needed and reference items on my calendar app on my phone. If I need to set up a recurring task, I can do that in the tool as well.

Home Office Only to Exploring Co-Working

The last change I made was joining a co-working space.  While there are many benefits to being a solopreneur, sometimes you just need to work around people and be in a different space. Yes, this change added a bit more commuting time to my day. But working outside the house allows me to interact with more people throughout the day. Surprisingly, it has helped me with my productivity.

None of these changes were big in terms of business processes, but each of them has brought little efficiencies to my daily workflow. Looking back, it’s clear that the most meaningful improvements in my business didn’t come from sweeping overhauls, but from a series of small, intentional changes.

As solopreneurs, we often feel pressure to adopt every new tool or stick with routines simply because they’re familiar. But sometimes, the best way to grow is to pause, reflect, and make thoughtful changes to how we work.

No matter whether you have been in business for 8 months or 8 years, what processes could you change slightly to gain some efficiencies? Are there processes you’ve been doing for a while that just don’t make sense any longer? What small changes could help you work smarter, not harder, in the months ahead?

 I’m looking forward to seeing what other changes I might make over the next few months. 

Janel Kinlaw launched Refining Workflow in March 2018 to provide project management and business analysis to her clients.