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Using systems and habits to improve your life is a proven method to succeed. It requires seeing the work as a system and then adjusting your thoughts and behaviors to be able to take advantage of your opportunities in life.
Sometimes in conversations with others, I see examples where people know what they should do but do something different. We all experience this from time to time.
If we want to get healthy we need to exercise more and eat healthier foods and lower caloric intake. This is common sense, most would say. But it isn’t common behavior.
Read MoreSince it is the beginning of the year we can start to see all sorts of signs that the majority of people want to change and improve their lives. They set New Years resolutions and promise that this year will be the year they see the results they crave.
Results are usually the measuring stick that we all use. If we start working out to lose weight we want to see the number on the scale decrease over time. We don’t want to set out to lose weight and gain weight instead.
Read MoreI previously worked with a fairly large corporation. The company had been around over 70 years and built a solid business with thousands of employees.
Because of the fact that the business was older and it was a large corporation, there were constant calls for change. Everywhere people would claim we couldn’t keep working this way. They would argue that the processes and systems were outdated.
Read MoreSystems are all around us. We all interact with too many systems to count on a daily basis. There are traffic systems in place while we drive to work, work rules that makeup processes and systems, and we interact with others using habits and systematic responses.
With all of the various systems around us, in can be easy to forget how many systems we have control over. These can be looked at as habits, natural tendencies, our daily routines and behaviors etc. Instead of focusing on systems we control we only notice systems outside of our control.
Read MoreThere are many ways to design systems and habits to improve an area of your life. I have worked through many different system designs and habit changes and found that the options are numerous.
With all of those options it can be hard to get started. I always recommend starting slowly (such using the technique setting the minimum). But that still might not be enough information to really understand how to do this.
Read MorePeople have been using systems thinking for decades. While Lao Tzu certainly had no understanding of any formal systems thinking 2,500 years ago when he wrote the Tao Te Ching, his work exemplifies many systems thinking principles.
Today you can easily find a book that explains systems thinking in a very technical manner. You can study about feedback loops and mental models all day to get more clarity around elements that exist within a system.
Read MoreDr. Wayne Dyer once said, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
I love that quote. Not just because it is insightful but also because I have gone through several transformations of the way I think and each time I experienced this very intimately.
Read MoreThis time of year, everyone seems to be talking about goals and resolutions. Change is in the air. Motivation is up and we start to evaluate what we want to improve in the next few months.
While this can be a good time to boost our self-improvement, it can also form a cycle of start and failure. Many of the goals we set are uncomfortable so we wait until January to attack them.
Read MoreOne of the misconceptions around systems thinking is that using it will suddenly make every decision easy and perfect. By seeing the full system, we assume that we can see the magical solution that we missed when we were thinking linearly.
The reality is that systems thinking isn’t about magic or perfection. It is really more about seeing things differently to get a better idea of the full picture.
Read MoreThere is complexity all around us. The world seems to get more complex by the day. With all of this increasing complexity, we often have to make simplicity a priority.
Keeping things simple can be a great method for handling all of life’s details. By remaining focused on the simple solution we can continue to improve. But the reality is that sometimes we can’t avoid the complex details.
Read MoreMany problems that we face in our personal lives can be looked at several different ways. We can find someone to blame. We can try to address the root problem. Or we can try to ease the symptoms.
While finding someone to blame might help us feel better about the problem, it doesn’t do anything to correct the problem area. We end up just keeping on the same path always on the hunt for someone or something else to point the finger at.
Read MoreHaving worked in product development at several different companies, I have directly experienced what happens when you go from giving something away for free to then start charging customers for it.
I am not referring to doing free trials or using a free version of an app to generate a ton of exposure and then have a select experience available that you charge for. I am referring to a situation where something was given away for free for a long time and then suddenly that same experience is one that now costs money.
Read MoreThe main element of the systems and habits approach to improvement is to use systems thinking to gain a fresh perspective on something and then make steps to improve using the principles of systems.
One of the main components found in systems are feedback loops. There are two different types, the reinforcing feedback loop and the balancing feedback loop. This article will focus on the reinforcing feedback loop.
Read MoreBridges have been used for centuries to cross over some type of obstacle, like a ravine or river. Over the decades we have developed more advanced systems to get us over these obstacles.
One of the developments was the suspension bridge. These types of bridges have been used for over 600 years. But what is fascinating is that they tackle a problem with a creative, systematic solution that many linear thinking strategies would miss.
Read MoreThe other day at work we encountered a problem that required us to completely change the routing systems and processes we use to service our customers. We repair home medical equipment and have developed numerous routes to pick up broken equipment and return repaired equipment to home care dealers.
Because of some changes with a partner we have gained the potential for a significant increase in the number of stops that we have. But because the data provided to us is incomplete, we don’t know if the changes will mean extra 2-3 customers per week or 20-30 per week. In fact, we really don’t know if it means it will be 100-200 more customers that we have to start regularly visiting.
Read MoreFor the latest version of this article, click here.
Read MoreMost people underestimate the power of habit and routine. Because these are usually subconscious elements of our lives, we don’t notice the extent to which they impact us.
We go through our morning routine getting ready for work or school in much the same way, day after day. We get ready to go to sleep in similar patterns. We drive to the store in roughly the same way.
Read MoreA benefit to using the systems and habits approach to improvement is that after a time when your routines get off track, you can more easily get back on track than if you relied solely on effort to reach a goal.
Because the focus is on developing routines and habits that move you towards your goals, after a long holiday weekend or after having the flu for several days, those habits tend to be there ready to be utilized again. It takes less time, then, to get back into the routine and have those habits driving behavior again.
Read MoreA lot of people talk about their failures and all that they learned from them. Thomas Edison said that he doesn’t look at mistakes the same as us; in fact, he said he simply found ways that don’t work, not mistakes. This allowed him to keep improving and getting better.
But most people that I know do not grow and get better from failure. They keep making mistake after mistake. They tend to minimize their own responsibility because it is much easier to blame others. This also conserves our ego and helps from taking a hit to our self-esteem.
Read MoreI write a lot about why effort is less important than we think when it comes to accomplishing goals and reaching new levels of success. I feel that people put way too much value on effort and motivation and not enough emphasis on habit and routine.
But habit and routine are what will keep us driving towards success through all the ups and downs of everyday life. If we can keep consistent with the habits driving us towards the future we want to create, we can keep making progress through all types of adversity.
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