Are you struggling with the number of things you need to do in your business each day? And find you’re pulled between tasks? You might need to start thinking about how you can systemize your business,
In fact. Your entire life.
What would happen if it was run by your employees for a couple of days?
What would happen if one or two key employees took an extended period off work. Worse still. Stopped working for you altogether?
It might be hard at first, but the more comfortable they are in taking on this responsibility – the better!
If you’re looking for a way to systemize your business, then you’re in luck. These three books will help you get started.
Each one is full of useful information that will help you create a well-oiled machine. So, what are you waiting for? Start reading!
Updated: 21st March 2025
Why Systemize Your Business?
Systemizing your business will allow you to empower and engage with employees. You’ll have the freedom of when, where, why, and how much work gets done.
So that everything runs smoothly even without any human intervention on your end!
Here are three books you need to read if you want to begin systemizing your business and free up your time.
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
A classic.
And you may have heard the following advice. That is given to lots of business owners. “Work on your business, not in your business.”
Well, it comes from this book.
He found that the biggest mistake made by small business owners, is that they work IN their business. Not ON their business.
Michael Gerber learned this the hard way after years as an entrepreneur himself.
The best way to resolve this is to use the ‘Business Format Franchise’ method. It’s a great way to start creating systems within a company.
The core of the framework is to create systems that actually work. You do this by looking at predictable components, which you can test. Then start building out systems from these testable components.
If you follow Michaels’s system. You will have more freedom to be able to step away from your business.
This is because someone else will be able to “take the reins” while you’re away.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
I’ve found this book to be more about systemizing yourself, than your business.
The e-myth focuses on operationalizing your business.
Atomic habits give you a framework to make sure you are “sticking to the plan”.
Many entrepreneurs and business owners. Rely on discipline, consistency, hard work. To “grind the hell” out of the hours during the day.
We also tend to do a lot of goal setting.
But the author, James Clear disagrees with this approach.
The key theme from the book is “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the levels of your systems.”
It took my a few reads of this book. Over a 12 month period to digest the concepts and start implementing them in my day-to-day.
One of the biggest changes for me was to implement a habit tracker. You can download a copy of the one I built and use after reading the book here.
I’m trying to put in place systems to make sure I’m sticking to the plan. Doing what I said I’d do. And making sure the things get done.
Oh, I’ve another tool to help you with your workload. It’s my Getting Things Done framework.
Overall, this book helps you systemize yourself as a business owner. To be focusing on things to that move your business in the direction that YOU want.
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
I LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s the book that started me on my journey, trying to build my own online lifestyle business.
Check out Tim’s podcast too it’s awesome.
This book is a guide showing you that you can have a lifestyle you’ve always dreamed about. While still running a business.
The first edition of this book dates back to 2007. I, myself read it back in 2010.
It changed my life.
It pulled back the curtain on what’s possible. Revealed a world to me that I didn’t think existed. And that wasn’t meant for me.
Tim Ferriss structured his book according to his D.E.A.L framework.
The first ‘D’ stands for definition and discusses how to define and figure out what you want and how to face fear.
Although I’ve started using D for delegate. I go into details in this YouTube video.
The second ‘E’ stands for elimination. Focusing on managing your time, focusing on the tasks that yield the greatest results.
The third ‘A’ stands for automation. Dealing with how to build an automatic and sustainable source of income.
Even back in the early 2000’s there were tools and software available to you to automate many parts of your business
The fourth ‘L’ stands for liberation. Showing you how to automate your business can allow you to live your ideal lifestyle.
BONUS BOOK: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
In his book author identifies three kinds of problems that affect everyone.
He teaches the importance of utilizing checklists to improve results within a business. He states that a list is a useful tool that can help your staff work together to achieve better results.
If you want to reap the rewards that come with business systemization. Then you have to start systemizing your business.
This means you have to start documenting your business procedures.
How To Start To Systemize Your Business
These books are great to give you a high-level overview how to systemize not only your business. But your day-to-day as well.
If you want a quick framework that you can start using today.
I’ve put together this priority matrix, using what I’ve learned from these books.
Here’s a visual of the framework
What you want to do. Is to get you and your team to list out all the task that they do each day, week, or month.
Then you need to put them into one of the 4 quadrants shown above.
High-impact, low-effort
High-impact, high-effort
Low-impact, low-effort.
Low-impact, high-effort.
If it’s low-impact, high-effort, should you be doing it at all (e for eliminate). Is it low-impact, low-effort? Could you give this to a VA for example (d for delegate)?
However, the high-impact, low-effort are prime candidates to be automated (a for automate). Even adopt AI agents to get these tasks done.
Why these tasks?
Well, they move the business forwards in some way. And if an error occurs it degrades the service. Automation reduces the number of errors. And makes sure these tasks are getting done 24/7.
Conclusion: Systemize Your Business
If you want to systemize your business, read these three books. They will help you understand how important it is to have a plan in place before doing anything else!
The three books I recommend reading first to systemize your business are
The E-myth revisited
Atomic habits
The Four-Hour Workweek.
Don’t forget the bonus book, The Checklist Manifesto too.
To help you fast track automating parts of your business. List all the task you and your team do on a daily or weekly basis. Find all the tasks that are “high-impact”, “low-effort” and figure out how you can automate these.
If you need help figuring this out. Or how to start automating processes in your business. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
