The System That Worked Before May Be Holding You Back

(Transcript edited for clarity.)

Hi, I'm Wes. Welcome to The System That Worked Before May Be Holding You Back, or Why Every System Eventually Needs an Upgrade.

If you watch any of my episodes, I talk about creating systems and frameworks all the time and how my life improved when I started creating systems for my life and business.

If you start creating systems for your life or business and things start working better, that can lead to complacency.

It can lead to the assumption that the systems you've put into place and designed, and the frameworks you've developed that have been working, never need to be evaluated.

That's a very dangerous mindset.

I had to learn this the hard way.

As soon as I started seeing systems that had been working break down or need improvement, I started trying to build evaluation into each system so I know to look for it.

Usually once a year, I take a look at the systems I'm using and evaluate them.

I try to see whether one is starting to break down or whether one is working fine but I've learned something new and there might be a way to make it even better.

Sometimes you do need to upgrade your systems.

Another thing I want to mention before we dig into this further is that even if you're not intentionally creating systems, you have systems you're using now.

You're just not using them optimally because you're not intentionally using them.

I'm going to give you an example of how I had to learn that the hard way too.

But as we go through this, let's start with a question.

Here's the question you need to think about as we're going through today's episode about systems that worked before but may be holding you back or may need to be adjusted:

Is the system helping me, or am I using it because it used to work?

There's nothing wrong with using a system that's been working.

The problem is when you don't evaluate the system that's working, or used to work, on a regular basis to see whether it needs to be replaced or upgraded.

So I told you I was going to give you an example.

I now have a system for my health, welfare, and exercise.

I didn't have one for most of my life.

I was diagnosed with diabetes and my A1C was out of control, and I had to create systems around that.

The system I'm going to use as my example, though, is my exercise system.

I exercised off and on over the years but never stuck with it.

I'd gain a little weight, think I needed to lose some weight, exercise for a little bit, and then stop.

I don't like exercising, so there wasn't a real reason in my mind to create a system around doing it.

But even that was a system.

My system was: I feel like I'm gaining a little weight, I don't feel as well as I used to, so I'm going to exercise for a while.

I'd exercise for a week or a month and then stop.

The next time I felt that way, I might exercise for another week or month.

That was my system.

It wasn't an intentional system.

I didn't sit down, think about it, and create that system. I was just using it.

That's what I mean when I say that whether you know it or not, you're using systems now.

If you intentionally use systems and intentionally create systems, you're going to have a much better chance of those systems helping you reach the success you want.

So here's what I did.

When I went to the doctor and my A1C was too high, part of the problem was that I needed to lose some weight.

I knew a big part of that was that I had to get serious about exercise.

So I intentionally created an exercise system.

I knew the way I was, so my system took that into account.

If I felt like I had to do it every single day of the week, every single day of the year, that system would probably break down.

So I give myself two days off a week.

The system is that I've got to exercise at least a half hour a day, five days a week.

That gives me the flexibility to move it around depending on where I want to block my time for my priorities, family, core values, and other things that week.

It lets me move the exercise around depending on what else I've got going on certain days.

I created a system.

At the beginning of every week, when I lay out my week and time block my priorities, family, and other things, I time block five half-hour exercise blocks.

I actually block out longer than that.

I block out an hour because of getting ready to exercise, exercising, cooling down, and getting my mind back into work where I can do something else.

That doesn't matter to the larger point, but it's a good example because I know what will work for me and what won't.

That's why I developed the system that way.

Before, I was using a system, but it wasn't intentional and it didn't work.

Well, it worked fine except that it didn't help me lose weight or get healthier.

Short spurts, then I'd quit doing it.

Now it's consistent exercise, it's time blocked, and it's a priority.

I've created a system for it.

I've also created a system for how to get back on track quickly if I do get off track.

Again, it was intentional.

I've made it a priority every week, I've used time blocks, and I track it every week.

I can look back and ask, 'How did I do the past month? How many days? Did I get five days every week? If not, why not?'

That lets me look for ways to improve the system.

If I start missing too many days, I take a close look at the system that was working to see where I might need to adjust it.

A useful system solves a problem in a particular time or set of conditions.

That does not mean the same system is going to work as well forever.

A system can be great for a long time. Sometimes it's only a short time.

The important thing is to find a system that works, but don't assume it's going to last forever.

Evaluate all your systems occasionally.

Like I said, I try to evaluate all the systems I use at least once a year to see whether I can improve them or whether any of them aren't working as well as they were before.

Goals, responsibilities, tools, and constraints change over time.

Every time you come up with a new goal, you should either use systems you have to support it or create systems around it.

But the one thing I mentioned there that I really want to touch on is that tools change.

The tools we use in our lives, businesses, and systems change.

Things advance.

Electronic things seem to advance quickly, but there are all kinds of better tools now than we used to have.

If you've been using a system for three or five years, it's very possible there are tools available now that you could plug into that system to make it work even better that you didn't have when you created it.

A system can become friction when you keep following it after the situation it's supposed to solve changes.

I've talked about friction before, and there can be good friction and bad friction.

Good friction is when you're trying to keep from doing something.

You try to add as much friction to doing that as possible.

Bad friction is when you have a system that was working but isn't working as well anymore, and you keep doing it anyway.

That's creating friction between you and reaching the goal or outcome the system is supposed to help you with.

Watch for repeated workarounds, skipped steps, and problems that keep returning.

If you have a system where you keep having to do a workaround, the same steps keep coming up, or you keep missing or skipping a step, take a look at the system and see whether you can adjust it.

I teach evaluating and adjusting all the time.

That's how you reach your big goals in life: you evaluate and then adjust as you need to.

Review important systems periodically instead of waiting for them to fail completely.

Once you start seeing how this works, hopefully you'll start seeing a system that's beginning to break down before it fails, and then you can start evaluating and adjusting.

If you set a periodic time to evaluate every system, you can use whatever time frame you want.

I keep saying I try to evaluate mine at least once a year.

That's the longest I recommend going between evaluating your systems.

I don't think there's anything wrong with evaluating your systems every three to six months.

There are a few of mine that I probably evaluate that often.

But I also try to constantly look for the kinds of things I've been talking about here that would trigger me to notice that a system is not doing as well as it used to so I can take care of it before it completely fails.

You need to keep what works, remove what no longer works, and upgrade only the parts that need improvement.

Just because a system stops working doesn't necessarily mean you need to scrap the whole system.

Maybe you just need to rework a few parts of it.

Here's how you do that.

You collect evidence, you evaluate, and you adjust.

It's really that simple.

So the question I asked was: Is this system still helping you, or are you using it because it used to work?

Look at every system in your life right now.

Remember to look at the ones you've intentionally created and also the ones you're using that you didn't intentionally create.

See whether there are steps that need to be fixed, tweaked, or improved.

Every time you can improve any part of a system, it can exponentially help you move toward whatever goal that system is supposed to support.

I'm Wes.

This is Your Life Systems.

Please like and subscribe.

Thanks for being with me.

Work on those systems.

What's Next?

·        Choose one important system you currently rely on.

·        Ask whether it is still helping or whether you are using it because it used to work.

·        Look for workarounds, skipped steps, repeated problems, and unnecessary friction.

·        Check whether your goals, tools, responsibilities, or constraints have changed.

·        Keep the parts that still work and adjust only the parts that need improvement.

·        Set a regular review point so you can catch breakdowns before the system fails completely.

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