[Book Excerpt] Color Zone System (CZS) Is Active

The following is an excerpt from Path Of The Freelancer: An Actionable Guide To Flourishing In Freelancing on how freelancers can minimize the chaos which comes with the ups and downs of the vocation. The excerpt comes from the chapter about the freelance roller coaster.

Expecting seasons of high activity and times when we have no work is one way to think of the roller coaster. It’s also helpful to think of these two states as times of war and times of peace.  To survive and thrive we’ll want to change how we act during these two entirely different contexts.

A Color Zone System (CZS) in place will enhance our chances of success and minimize our times of panic, but we need to determine how we’ll respond beforehand so when it gets bad, we don’t panic.

CZS is a visual way to accomplish this. As mentioned earlier in the book, this is the deeper dive into how the three color zone system works.

Years ago a friend gave me a book, Execution Without The Drama by Patrick Thean, which talked about a system revolving around these three colors.  Based on the color, individuals, departments and the company would respond according to predetermined plans. Everyone knew how they were to execute when the context changed.

When I began freelancing, I knew the roller coaster ride of feast and famine was coming, and I wanted to do whatever I could to mitigate against this dynamic from the beginning because of how draining it is over time. To accomplish this, I developed a RED, YELLOW, GREEN system for how I would behave based on what color zone I was in.

If you found value in reading this except, consider downloading the free chapter or buying the book on Amazon.