How To Think Less, Do More, And Guarantee Success:

Insight 68 | (The Importance Of Systems.)

If you are constantly working, always going, and yet never see any progress in your life, then today's newsletter is made intentionally for you.

The people getting ahead, making strides in their careers, pursuing passion projects, and improving their personal lives aren't necessarily more intelligent, talented, or even harderworking. Nine out of ten times, they’ve just figured out a set of techniques that works so well for them, and they can’t help but make advancements; it's built into how they live.

See, you don’t need new goals, better plans, or complicated breathing techniques. You desperately need better systems.

Here are the three steps you need to build, maintain, and improve your success in order to upgrade your life.

1. Goals Are Good. Plans Are Important. Systems Are Crucial. 

2. Create A Specific, Simple, And Repeatable Operation.

3. Do. Evaluate. Audit. Repeat.

This is how you think less, do more, and guarantee success.

1. Goals Are Good. Plans Are Important. Systems Are Crucial. It's hard to get somewhere if you don’t know where you're going. That’s why we should all be clear about our intentions and have a clear understanding of what we’re aiming for. Countless self-help books will tell you this: Goals are the North Stars that lead us to the better future we have imagined, hoped for, and worked for.  What these very same texts will not inform you of is that goal-setting is not enough. 

If you don’t believe me, take a moment to remember your New Year's resolutions list. I hope with all my heart you have made incredible strides towards achieving them, but if you haven’t, that's all the evidence you should need to realise that having a good target and sincere intention isn't enough. This is where the value of systems comes into play.

Think about it this way: Goals are essential; they are like the X on the map, a plan is reasonable and necessary; it's the dotted line that leads to treasure. But what's missing? The Map itself.

That is the system you must build and the action you must commit to follow the path and reach your goals.

See, when we set our eyes on things above, we are filled with hope, meaning, and direction, but the complex reality is that “planning to do the thing” isn't doing the thing. It doesn't matter how often you think about it (goal setting) or talk about how you are going to do it (creating a plan); the thing doesn't get done till you actually work on it directly. Systems are how you do it.

2. Create A Specific, Simple, And Repeatable Operation. Goals and Plans are passive, while systems are active; they require you to engage with them. The question now becomes how to build one that works and what a good one looks like. Simply put, a good one is specific, simple, doable, and repeatable... What do I mean by this?

Clarity is the key to consistency; it's what overrides our tendency to procrastinate and allows us to maintain a pattern that compounds over time to deliver results. Proverbs 29:18 reminds us that "Where there is no vision, the people perish," and that is because an unclear or unrealistic procedure is a vague path, and unclear paths can't be walked because you can’t see where they are. Tangibly, this looks like getting into the details of what you are doing. For example, let's say you would like to gain muscle and hit the gym. You have your goal (gain muscle) and plan (go to the gym) in place, but you're still missing your system. Which gym? How many times a week? What times of day? What happens if you miss a day? Answering these questions is what turns your “plans” into actions, something specific and clear. This applies to any goal you're aiming for, from personal to work-related: you need to know not just what you're doing, but also how and when you're doing it, so that then you can (here’s the secret) ACTUALLY DO IT!

Now, we should make it repeatable. This is where pairing your newfound system with things you already do increases the likelihood that it will happen again.  Here, you are working to reduce friction as much as possible and looking for daily habits you already have or need to establish that will serve as triggers, things that call your attention to what you need to do. This front-loads your decision-making into the present and removes the risk of decision fatigue when it's time to act. For example, if you're looking to increase your mental clarity or connection with the Lord and you're hoping to journal, then place your journal right next to the coffee machine. Somewhere you already check daily and can see to DO IT. This makes the habit you are trying to develop repeatable and consistent. You don't have to think about journaling anymore because it's next to the coffee you drink every day. That is specific, simple, repeatable, and more importantly, doable.

3. Do. Evaluate. Audit. Repeat. In a world that is constantly transforming and where the rate of change continually accelerates, adaptation is not an option but a necessity. If you really want to leave no room for error, constantly evaluate the system and conduct regular audits to see what is working and what is not, whether the machine you have built needs oil, or if the entire machine needs to be replaced with a newer, better model. 

This auditing process serves to oversee and ensure product quality. It takes shape in a few ways: first, by ensuring your systems can be and are being measured. This goes back to the specificity principle: you don't know what to fix if you don't know which part is broken. The only way to determine that is to measure how well your processes have helped you fulfill your plans to achieve your initial goals. If your structure isn't making measurable progress, it's time to reshape it. The other half of this same idea is auditing whether your goals are realistic in the first place. If you're a week into your journey and you were expecting to be ten times as far as you actually are, it is a sign of unrealistic expectations and may lead you to misjudge your systems. Adjusting your goals is a part of adapting your systems. Having an attainable goal you can and will stick to keeps you focused on improving, evaluating, and upgrading your system instead of becoming discouraged.

Secondly, this regular audit examines any potential frictions that have arisen since the last check-up. Life is hectic, that's to be expected. Perhaps you're busier than anticipated, or you've bitten off more than you can chew. Begin by admitting and accepting these things, then tackle their source. If you want to evolve as a person, the systems you use to do so must change with you.

Lastly, you must simplify things as much as possible. If you find yourself overoptimistic for every small detail, you’ll get lost in the weeds and get nothing done. It is better to make small progress each day than to gamble on taking unsteady steps every once in a while. I'll admit, much of this may sound boring, but remember, boring gets you results.

—

The phrase "If you want it bad enough, you’ll get it" is a blatant lie. It does not matter how great your ambitions or your ideas are if you don't have a tangible and effective strategy to get there. That said, there is something I must confess to you… I wrote this article because I needed to hear everything I just laid out to you.

Engaging with today's material was like having a mirror held up to my face. One that was pointing out exactly what I had lost sight of over the past few months. I needed to hear this and then go out an try it for myself, so in preparation for this article, I tested these three techniques and have experienced a radical change in only a few weeks.

I do not doubt that if you implement these three principles, there will be a compounding effect so tremendous that progress is inevitable. This is how you think less in order to do more, and guarantee success:

1. Goals Are Good. Plans Are Important. Systems Are Crucial. 

2. Create A Specific, Simple, And Repeatable Operation.

3. Do. Evaluate. Audit. Repeat.

Sharing is caring, and good news is meant for everyone. In a world of “Go-Getters,” being a  “Go-Giver” is what really makes a difference. If you know and love someone who’s been working hard but hasn't been seeing the results they were hoping for. Send them this article; I invite you to help spread a fire that enriches us all.

- Making The Most Of Being Curious

Daniel J. Cuesta

P.S.: This reminds me of a line from James Clear's wildly successful book, Atomic Habits: You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems. If you want to rise high, you need to understand the importance of them, how to create usable ones, and how to tune them to maintain your life's high levels of efficiency.

Sources:

Goals Are Good: Where there is no vision, the people perish. - Proverbs 29:18 

Plans Are Important: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? - Luke 14:28 

Systems Are Crucial: But all things should be done decently and in order. - 1 Corinthians 14:40

Create A Specific, Simple, And Repeatable Operation: Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions (specific) in summer and gathers its food at harvest. (repeatable) - Proverbs 6:6–8

Do. Evaluate. Audit. Repeat.: Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds,

- Proverbs 27:23