Hi Hello Reader,

It's been...well, it's been a minute. Kit is telling me I last worked on this at the end of October, which is about right - that's also when I had to work on a major software change in Crayon Advisory in earnest.

This email didn't go out because my focus shifted to more immediate things. And then I kept telling myself (lying to myself?) that I'd send this out next week. And then next week.

And next week became many weeks (*gulps* months) later. Time doesn't pass for me in quite the same way as it does for most people. I don't experience two hours much differently than two days or two weeks.

Large projects, like migrating to a new piece of software, challenge that timeblindness significantly. Not only am I at the end of this project, but, the new Portal (Acounta) is fully implemented and I'm quite pleased with it, even if I do have some wish-list items.

A project like this has so much involved with it. There's so much to do - from selection to set up to deciding how the new software will fit into your workflow to deciding how to make announcements and what steps need to be taken before announcements are made:

• ​Build an FAQ​
• Record a couple of videos (seven in total a few of which I'd like to re-record).
• Write a few (okay, there were between 25 and 40 stock emails I wrote last fall).
• ​Build a scheduling system (I'm so glad I did this, and that I did it my way, and I know what/how I want to change it next year).
• Build several workflows. And rebuild them.
• Write a few emails to go out of my live project management system for a few different scenarios before hitting send.
• Save everything that might need saving form the old portal.

It's an easy sauce to get lost in.

I originally started writing this email on the day I got to hit the go button to start sending out the announcement to clients. Just a couple of weeks before my relationship with my old portal was going to end.

Despite my biggest fears, I had little revolt or reluctance from my clients. Sure, there were some bumps in the road. I wasn't fully prepared for the transition when I hit the first go button. Several automations weren't ready. I hadn't written all the emails I mentioned above. And the scheduling tool I built was little more than a dream with a plan that would also need a process to support it.

As well as this all went, none of it was perfect. There are definitely things I would do differently. But, with a little bit of luck, I won't need to for a long time to come - that I, and my firm, will continue to grow alongside this portal-meets-practice-management.

What sauce do you get lost in? What part of this sauce to you want to see more of?