Falling to the Level of Our Systems

We’re a month into the new year and this is always a good time for me to process how my goals for the year are progressing.

So far this year, I’ve found this quote has been very helpful:

“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” ~ James Clear

Like many of you, I have all kinds of goals every year. Some them are pretty big. But in spite of what it looks like I am able to get accomplished on ComposeCreate, I still fall prey to all of the same issues that everyone does.

Now, I can usually get a lot done just by being organized and protective of my schedule, but it’s those really big projects that I haven’t yet started that I find so challenging. So I found it especially helpful this year to be reminded of this quote by James Clear.

It’s not the goal itself that I should be looking toward. If I’m only looking at the goal and not doing the work of creating a reliable system for achieving that goal, then I’ll never get it done.

Time blocking on my calendar to focus and work has been one of my reliable systems for a long time. This is where I block out a longer period of time (2-3 hours) to do just one thing and I don’t let any distractions (email, phone, texts, etc.) get in my way except for emergencies. This quote reminded me just how important those blocks have been for achieving all I have thus far. And it reminded me that not only should I time block for my “medium” sized tasks, but for that big one too!

Also, “piggybacking habits” is another example of a system that has been especially helpful for me. I’m not a big water drinker and so it’s been my goal to increase my water intake for a while. But only when I attached it to habits that are already hard and fast in my life have I been able to drink more water. For example, I eat breakfast every day. That’s a habit that I never miss. So I now attach the requirement that I need to drink 16 oz of water before I get up from breakfast. This just gives me a better start to my day and makes sure that I at least don’t start the day on the way to a little dehydration.

Of course, making sure our goal is one that is worthy and achievable goal is an important first step. But it’s our systems that determine whether or not we achieve the goal and how fast it happens.

It’s such a simple concept, but so true. It’s what I’m trying focus on right now.

What are some systems that you have established to reach your goals?