Not long ago, a friend of mine sent me a text saying, “Didn’t you have a goal of publishing three books before you hit the age of 50?”
I’m not age 50 yet, and I have published three books, but I didn’t remember that goal at all. I must have verbalized it to her, but I don’t remember writing it down. And if I did, it’s buried in a journal somewhere.
But they do say to write down your goals—that you’re more likely to achieve them if you write them down and make them measurable. And my goal, apparently—the one that I didn’t remember—met the criteria of being measurable. And at least I tried to “record” it by telling my friend.
Goals vs. Systems
I came across an article recently that to me made a lot more sense for the way I work and the way I think. The article was by Jeff Hayden, in which he quotes James Clear saying, “It all comes down to the difference between goals and systems.”
He uses a couple of examples, and I’d like to highlight two of them:
- If you’re a coach, your goal is to win a championship. Your system is what your team does at practice each day.
- If you’re a writer, your goal is to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule you follow each week.
“If you completely ignored your goals,” he asks, “and focused on your systems, would you still get results? I think you would,” he concludes.
And I think you would, too. And I think I will.
My Focus for This Year
This year, I’m going to focus a lot more on systems than on my goals.
Yes, I will figure them out.
Yes, I will make them measurable.
And yes, this time I will write them down (maybe I’ll tell them to my friend, as well).
And then I’m going to focus on systems—the method by which I attempt to achieve those goals. And those systems can come down to my daily activities, the way I manage my time, the way I manage my space, and the daily achievements I seek to attain.
For example, if I decide with my writing I want to achieve a certain word count or write for a certain amount of time or a time of day and set that schedule, that’s what I’m going to focus on.
Keeping the goal in front of me is important in some sense, as it gives a purpose to the system. But the system is how I’m going to get there.
Your Turn
For this year, I hope that you can find some systems that help you achieve your goals for this year and beyond. And if you need help thinking those through, feel free to talk with me in the comment section below. Let’s try to generate some ideas that can help each other out.
And I think when we get our systems down, our writing lives will flourish.
Questions for Reflection:
- Do you tend to set goals and resolutions at the turn of the new year? How effective are they?
- Do you have goals for this year?
- Would systems work better for you than goals alone?
- What systems might you incorporate into your writing life this year to help you make steady progress toward your goal(s)?
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I used to make resolutions, many, and found myself making the same ones year after year, so I gave that up. About 16 years ago I started choosing a word for the year instead. It’s like choosing a focus as a single resolution. That has been more fruitful in some years than others. Sometimes I make one resolution. In 2012 it was “Sing every day, to or with someone when possible.” That was a good one.
I had goals for 2014, and accomplished some of them. I have goals for 2015, too, and simply declaring them isn’t enough. You’re right. Systems help. A goal is the what; a system is the how.
To work toward my writing goals, one of my systems, which I had some success with this year, is getting up in the morning and writing. It works best if I keep it a set time every day (but go ahead and get up if I’m awake earlier); program the coffeemaker the night before, so the aroma helps as an olfactory alarm; wash dishes the night before so I wake to a tidy kitchen; lay my clothes out the night before; have what I want to work on queued up on my laptop; and put my DSL connector cord across the room, to thwart getting online.
This morning’s goal of 500 words was met, with time left over to update my daily blog and to write this.
I’m so glad you included the details of your system, including the coffeemaker and tidy kitchen. This kind of practical description really helped me when I was a younger writer, trying to figure out how to create a writing life.
The idea of a word of the year or one resolution per year seems so much more manageable–the umbrella under which many other happenings may occur. The word of the year never really worked for me. I tried it three years, but nothing clicked. I’m glad it’s a good tool for others, though.
I’d totally vote for systems over goals. I wrote about that kind of thing when I did a Rumors of Water book club: http://monicasharman.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/snowball-fight-writing/
Focusing on systems (or habits) is fun. I agree with Haden’s #1 point that goals frustrate.
Haden’s #3 reminds me of a friend’s advice (for anything, not just writing): don’t confuse goals with desires. She said that if I set a goal, make sure it’s something I have control over (“I will submit my manuscript to 3 publishers or agents this month” or “I will not speak negatively about the person who hurt me”). The other things I have no control over (“I want 3 contract offers by next year” or “I want no one else to be hurt by that person”) are desires and not goals that I should set.
Great advice you pulled out–not to confuse goals with desires. That’s why I’ve learned to write goals and tasks similarly: to launch it with a verb. A verb is active–something I can do (and therefore have some control over). We can still write down desires, maybe in a more private space like a journal. But you’re right–we can’t control whether or not we get the contracts. We can, however, sharpen our work and submit proposals to agents and publishers we’ve researched.
Ann – This might be my favorite podcast so far! As I was listening, I realized that I have confused systems and goals. I have actually called my systems “goals,” and to be honest, systems aren’t very inspiring. A system is something you accomplish every day, so it’s not really some to motivate and work toward. Don’t get me wrong. Systems are invaluable, but I realize that I need to have tangible, measurable goals in mind that my systems move me toward, otherwise, I get mired down.
Thank you so much! This was incredibly helpful.
I’m so glad to read your thoughts, Charity! I agree that a system isn’t very inspiring. You might say a system isn’t sexy, but it gets stuff done! The goal gives us something to work toward, and the system gets me there. Both are important. And I appreciated the other thoughts in the comments, such as Monica’s reminder that a dream is not a goal, as well as your observation that a system is not a goal. Getting a clear handle on each of those–dream, goal, and system–is helpful to me.
Thanks for this inspiration. Goals can be so overwhelming. But I can manage a system. Inch by inch everything’s a cinch, right?
Yes, inch by inch, bird by bird, to borrow from Anne Lamott! 🙂
Love this – and I’m getting there. Gotta finish stashing away all the Christmas decor first, but I’m chewing on all of this.
I’ve got some systems in place that I think will help me with some of my primary goals and intentions, or, shall we say, resolutions. Here’s hoping that getting your home back in its normal state will clear the way for what you want to do next–and how to get there!
Really love this… it definitely fits my own personal style. I try NOT to think that much about my “end goal” while I’m consumed by the process of getting there, and I always felt kind of bad about that. But the way my mind works is that once a goal is set it becomes an indiscernible part of everything I do within the process, or system (I kind of have tunnel vision…which is a nice way of saying I get kind of obsessed). In fact, if I start to think about the specific goal too much I get scared – I worry if I can actually get there, on time, not only adequately but over the top ready for whatever the next step will be… and then I start worrying about THAT. The next step begins to overshadow the goal, and together they team up and tie my shoelaces together!
All of that said, I NEED goals to keep my system flowing. Right now I’m kind of in a spot that feels really stuck and rusty, in between phases on a project – so your advice on systems might help me loosen up again and get myself writing. So maybe my goal will be to create and maintain an in-between- system, even. 🙂
And, Ann, you know I love these podcasts… but have I mentioned how much I love the music you use? 🙂
Yes, both system and goals help us make progress, and yet it’s easy to get bogged down or tripped up, as your shoelace analogy suggests.
Thank you so much for taking time to listen and engage–I love hearing about people’s processes, systems, goals, and frustrations, too.
The music, I blush to admit, is a free jingle provided by Garage Band. I liked its upbeat, encouraging tone–felt like it fit my personality and the tone of the podcasts. Charity and I picked a similar “sound” for our videos, as well.
I’m totally a systems gal. Haven’t set a goal ever. Haven’t made a New Year’s resolution since 1986. I’m not saying I’m right, I’m just saying.
I find that my systems needs to updated frequently, like during holidays or summer breaks. Those changes often bring unexpected writing gifts, I guess just from the variety.