Is it time to fix your systems?
The holiday season is wrapping up, and this week between Christmas and New Year's is always the time I spend more time reflecting on what I wanted from the year and what the reality ended up being. I used three words to help guide my decision-making in 2023 - Joy, Intentional, and Brave, and they proved to be great choices for what was needed this year. As we head into 2024, I have selected three new words which I'll share in an upcoming post, but they are already proving to be helpful in deciding what I want to take forward into 2024 and what I need to leave behind.
Speaking of leaving behind….I'm not leaving behind my weekly newsletter content, but I am leaving behind what I started feeling like I had to include - what I've been reading and listening to. I'll probably share these on a more ad hoc basis when one really aligns to something I needed to hear or that I want to make sure you check out. My favorite things will always live on my personal website, and the podcast episodes I've shared this year are available with the Spotify playlist.
When I reread last year's message for this week, I had highlighted this statement from James Clear's book, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones,
"If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead. Your goal is your desired outcome. Your system is the collection of daily habits that will get you there."
Now, I'm not telling you not to set goals. I know that I am in the process of finalizing my 2024 goals, but I've realized (mostly because others have reminded me) that I need to be more laser-focused on what's most important for the year ahead, both personally and professionally. To make those priorities easier to achieve, I need to start looking at the systems I have in place that are not working, those that are working, or those that I need to add. Systems essentially are the habits and processes, that when followed, bring you toward achievement of the goal.
If I use running as an example, I may have a goal to run my half-marathon to achieve a PR (personal record). So many things contribute to whether that will happen or not (many of which I don't control, like weather). What I do control is the system I put in place to make sure I have the opportunity to achieve that goal. Knowing that I need speed and strength work, that sleep and nutrition play major factors, and that I need to ensure I have enough time blocked out to do the workouts, I need to create the system to follow that eliminates the decision-making and allows me just to follow the plan.
Do you have the right systems in place or are you needing to spend time each day and week deciding what to do?
Give it some thought as you reflect on 2023 and get excited for 2024 to begin.