I halved my admin workload to focus on my passion for learning

Every day, I have to learn something new or else I feel bored or lost. If you're not learning anything new, your business - and you personally - are stagnating. That's why cutting my admin time in half has been life-changing.

The education junkie who couldn't stop learning

Cheri Lasota is not your typical business owner. Since 2004, she's built a career at the intersection of art, technology, and publishing - helping authors format their books, design their covers, and create stunning 3D stock art for their graphics needs.

But ask Cheri what really drives her, and she won't talk about revenue or client counts. She'll talk about learning.

I'm an education junkie. I need to constantly be growing, developing new skills, exploring new tools. The moment I stop learning is the moment my business - and I - start to stagnate.

Over the years, Cheri has mastered editing, publishing, graphic design, web design, and most notably, 3D illustration. Her portfolio of skills reads like a creative agency's entire team - all contained in one person.

There was just one problem: the more her business grew, the less time she had to do what she loved.

Drowning in administrative quicksand

As Cheri's client roster grew, so did the administrative burden. What started as a few hours a week turned into a relentless flood of emails, invoices, contracts, and technical troubleshooting.

She tried every combination of tools she could find. Project management in one app. Invoicing in another. Contracts somewhere else. Calendar and scheduling in yet another.

So much of my time was taken up with technical problems with apps. Every single one I tried failed me in supercritical areas of my business. I'd spend hours setting up a system, only to discover it couldn't handle something basic I needed.

The worst part? Since most of Cheri's work is billed hourly, every minute spent on admin was a minute she wasn't getting paid. The inefficiency wasn't just frustrating - it was directly costing her money.

If I'm wasting hours of time on administrative tasks, I'm losing out on client work and potential income. And I'm losing time to learn new things, which is what actually grows my business long-term.

Before she knew it, the majority of Cheri's workweek was being consumed by tasks that, while necessary, had nothing to do with why she started her business in the first place.

I hate that feeling of not having any time. I needed a structured and organized way of managing my business so I could have more time to learn and grow. I needed all my processes streamlined as quickly as humanly possible.

Discovering Plutio: a recommendation that changed everything

The breakthrough came from an unexpected place - someone in an online community mentioned Plutio.

Cheri was skeptical. She'd been burned by tools before. But something about Plutio felt different.

It's been a game-changer for me. What I really love is that Plutio actually listens to customers and implements feedback. That, in a software company, is incredibly rare. You feel like you're part of the product's evolution.

With Plutio, Cheri didn't just find a tool - she found a system that finally worked the way her brain worked.

Building a system that actually works

Today, Cheri uses Plutio for everything - and she's developed some creative approaches that go far beyond basic project management.

The four-board project system

Cheri's favorite feature is Plutio's task boards. For each project, she uses four distinct task groups:

1. Critical & High-Level - Long-term strategic tasks she needs to keep her eyes on at all times
2. Administrative - Tasks needed to facilitate the project's progress
3. Details & Quality - Minute tasks that could easily be forgotten but are critical to maintaining her standards
4. Client Interaction - Sending invoices, following up on requirements, etc. (kept hidden from clients to avoid awkward conversations)

Social media calendar

Cheri also uses Plutio to manage her content calendar. Each board represents a different social channel, with due dates on each task. She's created over 20 custom fields to denote content types - quotes, surveys, polls, community engagement posts, and more.

Learning & professional development tracker

Here's where Cheri's education junkie personality really shines. She uses Plutio to track topics she wants to learn, categorizing them by subject and adding them to a calendar of upcoming training sessions, webinars, and consultations.

It's not just about managing work - it's about managing growth.

Contracts that educate

Over the years, Cheri has drafted and refined contracts that cover every situation she's encountered. But she doesn't just see contracts as legal protection - she sees them as education tools.

It's important to me that clients understand what they're getting into when they sign a contract with me. Many have never published a book before. They need to understand how trademarks and copyrights work. When they know this ahead of time, they feel comfortable working with me.

All of her contracts are stored in Plutio as a searchable archive - no more digging through email to find that one document from three years ago.

Customized invoicing

For hourly work, detailed invoicing is critical. Cheri creates custom invoices for each client that show exactly what work was done and how long it took. Clients appreciate the transparency - and Cheri appreciates the templates that let her create perfect invoices in minutes instead of hours.

The results: more time for what matters

The impact on Cheri's business has been measurable and significant:

50% reduction in admin time

The headline number says it all. Cheri estimates her administrative workload has been cut in half. That's hours every week that she's reclaimed for revenue-generating work - or for learning something new.

Better client relationships

With all client information in one place, Cheri never loses track of important documents or forgets what she wanted to discuss. Clients love being able to see exactly what she's worked on at any time. They always know where they stand and what to expect.

Increased revenue

Time saved on admin is time available for billable work. Cheri now spends more of her day creating 3D assets, designing covers, and working on projects that actually generate income - instead of troubleshooting technical issues and managing scattered systems.

The lesson: time really is money

For creative professionals like Cheri, the math is simple. Every hour spent on administrative tasks is an hour not spent on client work, skill development, or business growth.

By consolidating everything into Plutio, Cheri didn't just get organized - she got her time back. And for an education junkie who needs to constantly learn and grow, that time is everything.

To see Cheri's work and learn more about her services, visit SeekerStockArt.com.