System vs. Goals — How to Set and Achieve Goals Using a System

I was intrigued by the concept of Systems vs. Goals and I wanted to share it with you.

I’d like to recommend a book that I recently finished reading. Scott Adams wrote a book called How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life. It discusses how making goals isn’t always the best strategy to achieve success in life because it can lead to a lot of dissatisfaction if we don’t achieve them.

According to the author

Rather than focusing on goals, the best way to succeed in life is to focus on systems. A system is a series of actions or habits that have been proved to take us to our objectives through time.

We’re always continuously attempting to complete something, whether it’s a job project or a personal goal. However, there are two approaches to thinking about this process: Systems and Goals.

When you have some sort of routine or plan for what needs to happen next, you have a SYSTEM,

When you have some form of the desired outcome, you have a GOAL.

Illustration System vs.Goals from James Clear Book Atomic Habits

Concept: System vs Goals

The concept of Systems vs. Goals is something I picked up from Scott Adams’ book “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.” It’s a simple concept, but it’s proven to be beneficial to me throughout the years.

The concept is that you have two options: goals or systems.

“I want to lose 10 pounds,” for example, is a goal.

“I’m going to eat healthier and exercise more,” says the system.

Goals have the disadvantage of being difficult to measure and easy to abandon when things get tough because there is no assurance of success. Systems are distinct in that they are ongoing and do not rely on obtaining a certain result.

When you create goals, dopamine is released, making you feel happy. When you use systems, on the other hand, your brain receives the same reward every time because it recognizes that what you’re doing is beneficial.

Systems are more beneficial than goals because they provide the same reward and they also give us a sense of certainty and security.

The system’s purpose is to ensure that you are always doing something beneficial to yourself.

The system instructs you on how to look after yourself and what is healthy for you. You’d have a clearer picture of your wants and needs.

This approach is not intended to be limiting; rather, it is intended to be liberating. This technique will educate you on how to do things that are healthy for you so that when your old habits return, you will no longer feel awful.

I’ll also show you two real-world instances of how I have set up systems to achieve goals.

System for Workout

I used to create goals for myself in the past. However, this was ineffective because it was difficult for me to follow through with them when I had other obligations. Instead of creating goals for myself, I’ve devised a strategy to help me exercise more frequently. This may appear to be a minor adjustment, but it has made a significant difference in my life.

For the past six months, I’ve been able to maintain a high level of consistency in my workouts. And I believe the fundamental reason for success was the deployment of a systems approach that included two key components:

Step 1: Simple and Easy-to-Follow Guidelines

Simple, and easy-to-follow guidelines that required little work or thought on my part.

The first thing I did was create a simple and clear plan for myself. The plan was divided into five sections:

1. What are the best exercises for me to do?
2. When should I go ahead and do them?
3. What should the number of sets and reps be?
4. How long should I take rest between sets?
5. What are my goals for each sets and reps?

Step 2: Making it Accountable

I set up a system of accountability where I had to report my progress to someone else.

I set up a system to report my progress to someone else to stay motivated and accountable. This process helped me track my progress more easily which made it easier for me to focus on what was working.

System for Writing Articles

Setting a goal was the first thing I did. To begin, I told myself that I wanted to publish at least one article per month.

The second step was to develop a method by breaking my task down into seven smaller tasks or phases, then completing each one at a time using a personal calendar.

Step 1: Transform my goals into actionable system

This first stage is to transform my goals into an actionable system that is sustainable, effective, and efficient.

This is my system, It isn’t perfect, but it serves me.

1. Checklist: I make sure that I have everything that I need and that the article is going to be on the right topic or niche and as well as conducting the necessary research on the topic.
2. Outline: I make a rough outline of what the article will cover, complete with subheadings and bullet points for each section. and make sure it is in a logical format. Decide on the best order for bullet points and create a list of all points you will cover in the article.
3. Rough Draft: Begin with an introduction, followed by each point I want to cover, then end with a conclusion or call to action.
4. Edit and Proofread: After completing the initial draft, edit, proofread and go over the post checklist, which includes questions like: Does it provide a detailed overview, Am I establishing a conversation? To create the illusion of a conversation using the words “you” and “I”.
5. SEO: I conclude little tasks to improve the article’s SEO, such as creating meta titles and meta 1. descriptions, among other things.
6. Promotion: I use a checklist to promote the article on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
7. Publish: Finally, I post the piece to a website or blog.

Step 2: Making it visible

The second step is to make it visible. This implies that I should make my content available to the general audience regularly. This will provide me with a sense of accomplishment as well as feedback on how well my piece is performing.

It is important because people are more likely to read and share the content that they see frequently.

The more frequently I post, the greater my visibility on the reading platform will be. My followers will also be more inclined to check my page for new updates daily.

Underlying principle

The underlying principle is that if you do something enough, you will start to become that thing.

What seems to happen is that I start becoming a person who workout regularly and a person who write articles regularly.

How to translate a life goal into a system and succeed

A system is a process to achieve a goal. It is not a plan, it is not an idea and neither it’s an intention. A system has to be designed and built to be successful.

To achieve a life goal, you need to translate them into a system. That is the only way for you to succeed.

1. The first step is to identify what your goal is and what it would look like if you achieved it.
2. The second step is to break down your goal into manageable steps and start working on them one by one.
3. The third step is to monitor your progress and adjust your plan as needed.
4. The fourth step is to celebrate the small successes as they happen because those are the moments that keep us going until we reach our ultimate goal.
5. The fifth step is to enjoy the activity every time we do it and make sure that it is aligned with our values.

Conclusion: What You Should Take Away From This Article

This article has discussed the importance of goal setting and how to turn those goals into systems. It has also discussed the concept of a system as it is more important than the goal itself because it will help you accomplish your goal faster and more efficiently.

1. What goals do you have that you can turn into systems you can apply every day?
2. What systems do you currently have and how can you improve them?

This article concludes that you should take away how to turn your goals into systems and apply them every day.

If you want to know more about systems, read my other articles on the Medium.

Waqas Shami is a productivity nerd and an avid traveler. He is trying to live more meaningful and purposeful life! Follow him on this new journey of balancing digital and physical life. He is living in Stockholm, Sweden. He is on Instagram @waqas.shami, twitter. @WaqasShami3.