Ian Knight — Business / Operations Systems Specialist
Buried in tasks, a calendar that never quite makes sense, and a workflow that still doesn't feel organized?
I'd like to help. Tell me what's actually going on in your business, and let's see if I can build you something simple that holds up under a real week — so you can get back to doing the part of the work you actually love.
This is also my personal home — where I write, journal, and document the slower process of rebuilding a life on purpose. A bit more about that.
Right now
What's happening now
Updated August 10, 2026 · Berlin, Germany
- Focused on
- Getting the Operations Systems freelance work to its first five paying clients, without sacrificing the writing.
- Learning
- German (B1 → B2), and how to price service work without underselling myself.
- Building
- A lightweight SOP template I can hand to any small team in a single call.
- Reading
- Company of One by Paul Jarvis — trying to figure out how small this can stay.
- Personally
- Running three mornings a week again. It's the first habit that's stuck in years.
I write this page more often than anything else on the site. If you want the short version of where I'm at, this is it — updated roughly every couple of weeks, no polish required.
Services
Freelance operations work
Workflow design, process documentation, and systems that hold up under a real week — see how I work and read real case studies.
Workflow Design
Mapping how work actually moves through your team, then redesigning it so it doesn't depend on anyone's memory.
Operations Organization
Untangling scattered tools, files, and half-used systems into one place your team actually opens.
Task & Calendar Systems
A task and scheduling setup that reflects how your week really runs, not a generic template.
Process Documentation
Turning what's currently only in your head into something a new hire could follow on day one.
A short record
Timeline
A running feed of small, honest moments — not just one a day.
Went for a run instead of doom-scrolling after a frustrating client email. Correct call.
German lesson — finally stopped translating in my head before speaking. Small, but I noticed it happen.
Second Systems client kicked off this morning. Kept the kickoff call to twenty minutes on purpose.
Started this journal thing. Love it so far!
First case study officially published, screenshots and all.
Reread the Company of One excerpt I saved last week and rewrote my pricing page because of it. — The note that started this
Blog
Latest from the blog
Polished pieces, built from real experiments — not generic advice.
How I Organize a Chaotic Personal Workflow
The system I actually use day to day — not the idealized version, the one that survives real weeks.
Why Planning More Was Making Me Less Productive
Three months of increasingly detailed plans, and increasingly little shipped. Here's what I changed.
What I Learned From Trying to Learn German Quickly
I wanted German fast. I got it slow, and mostly through boring repetition I resisted for the first six months.
Notes
Things I'm picking up
Quick excerpts from books and podcasts — shorter than a full post, still worth keeping.
Indie Hackers — episode on service pricing
“If nobody has ever pushed back on your price, you're leaving money on the table. The goal isn't to be cheap enough that nobody objects, it's to be clear enough about the value that objections are rare.”
Atomic Habits — James Clear
“You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. Obvious once you've heard it, easy to forget the other 360 days of the year.”
A note, personally
This site isn't trying to prove anything happened quickly. Most of what's here is slow, ordinary, and still in progress — which is the point.
Read more about why this existsOccasional letters
Get the honest version, not the highlight reel
New posts, journal highlights, and the occasional system I've built — sent when there's something worth sending, not on a schedule.
Say hello
Reader, potential client, or just passing through — I read everything that comes in.