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Happy Friday Dotties!
Last week I shared how our Wiki has changed the way we store information - and our resulting productivity.
Today I want to share some of my top tips and tricks, because if there is one thing I have learned - it's that documenting everything you do in your business may be the most overwhelming thing you'll do.
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Create a system first
Ms Harlequin developed a big check off list for us based on what we had talked about completing and what we still needed to do. This was so essential for me to work through. As we grew the Wiki, it became almost unwieldy and overwhelmed me rapidly. So starting off with a checklist and slowly adding it, finishing complete pages before moving to another, was key.
Realise the time involved
We have been working on our Wiki for a little over six months and there are still major gaps and things that need to be worked on. It's been a big adjustment to understand that it's not going to get done in a month, that the Wiki is an ever evolving part of our business and is not a set and forget piece.
It's also been a big key point for me to realise that the time I put in now, pays off later. it may take me a few hours to build out a page, but I get that time back when we come to reference it later on and find it has absolutely everything we need.
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Break it down
I often over complicate things and the one area where breaking absolutely everything down piece by piece is key, is the Wiki.
I have learned that putting too much on a page is silly, that adding too many different moving pieces to one part is silly. The best way to work in the Wiki is to break down elements - above you can see our Issues & Troubleshooting section along with our Newsletter section (both incomplete, ahem). In these, we have broken down each element into their own individual pages - making it really easy to find what we need quickly.
Create limited places for updates
One of my problems with my old ways of documenting processes was how difficult it was to update, one update here would require a further update there and don't forget that document too. What I have tried to do with our Wiki is create the content I need (Hero content as they say) and have everything else link to it. Our contacts for example, are housed on one page. Everywhere else we mention contacts? They link there to that one page. We even have a page under Admin that simply links to the contact page - solving the issue of someone looking in one place for something and it being somewhere else.
This alleviates multiple updates because I know that the "hero content" is always up to date.
Make use of embedding
As I mentioned last week, one of the fabulous things about the platform we used - Google Sites, is the ability to embed content in your pages.
I use this for all kinds of things - we have a form for website issues, we have Google docs embedded from our Google Drives to collaborate on. We have endless video tutorials embedded on their own pages. We embed PDFs that the team needs easy access to. This comes back to the key point of making the Wiki as much of a central point as possible.
Choose an easy system
I rave about Google Sites for a Wiki because it has everything I wanted. It's completely private by choice, but the entire team can access it, editing and add their own content easily.
I also love how easy it is to edit and add content. Literally, two clicks allow you to easily add a new page, another button easily allows edits.
Schedule updates
The part I fail on, but need to revisit - schedule updates! I've already found a bunch of pieces that need updating just from a couple of screenshots - oops! I truly think though, that this is key in creating a successful and useful Wiki. A mandatory Wiki update session at least once a month is one of those things that will pay off. It isn't, of course, useful as a tool if it's not even up to date.
Just do it
Working alone and think a Wiki is useless? What if you get sick? What if you take on a new team member? What if you decide to sell? For me, the Wiki is my fail safe. It's the piece of the puzzle that allows business to continue in spite of what might happen to me. It allows anyone to come in and help me out, or help the patterned people out and that insurance is crucial to me having an existence outside of my business.
So what do you think <<First Name>> ? Are you off to start a Wiki?
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Check out all our weekly picks on one place on the Polka Dot Bride Spotify playlist.
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New Drake! And I think this will hook in non-Drake fans, it's very chill and easy listening (dare I say). Give my main man a go!
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Thelma Plum
A gorgeous voice from this young singer with Indigenous heritage. Equally melancholic and sweet.
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Troy Sivan Ft Alessia Cara
I very much enjoy this rehash of Troy's brilliant hit, Alessia is a great addition to it. It's catchiness and brilliance still creeps up on me even after being around for so long.
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Paul Dempsey
Sixteen year old me would be rapt to know that Something for Kate are still - albeit in another form - creating music. Dempsey's breathy vocals still work wonders on me
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