Why You Need A System
Building Your Engine of Improvement
I have recently been toying around with this idea of “Engineer Your Life”, a concept I’ve developed on a self-improvement journey that began a long-time ago, when I quit my job to go it alone and become my own boss. During the Coronavirus outbreak, I have watched as others have started to go through some of the same growing pains I experienced. Vast swathes of the population were suddenly asked to work from home. While this was great at first, it soon became hard for people, as it did for me. So, I’m here to share my solution.
When “the man” isn’t watching over your shoulder, that extended lunch break is a-calling, nap times become more prolific than in a nursery school and you could swear your PlayStation controller is literally winking at you. You also run out of excuses you can tell yourself extraordinarily quickly. One benefit of showing up to work is that you were “at work for 8 hours”, it feels like you had a productive day simply by showing up, but did you? Studies seem to indicate you most likely didn’t, with the average actual work time being 2hrs 53mins. Nonetheless, when you’re at home the amount of work you did, or lack thereof, becomes somehow clearer. Downing tools at 5pm with little to show for the day can be demoralising and fill your evening with guilt, rather than pride. Your evening wind-down doesn’t feel so sweet and not nearly as well deserved when you haven’t accomplished anything with your day.
That’s with retaining a 9–5 structure, your boss keeping an eye out to make sure you’re logged on and the occasional call just to keep you on your toes. What happens when you have no boss? No deadlines even? The world is your oyster, you can take that midday nap totally guilt free! Whether you’re employed or self-employed the dangers are clear and chaos quickly ensues. “Working when I want” becomes “working all the time”, stress makes you lash out at loved ones and it’s far too easy to sleep in till midday, only to become a blue-light Gollum at 2am trying to salvage the day. The savvy learn quickly that their newly found freedom, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, not if you can’t harness it. They realise they’ve been given the reigns to a wild horse with no idea how to tame it.
At least, that’s how I felt. In my experience, you have to come to terms with yourself quick. That introspective moment goes deeper than your work ethic or career goals. You are forced to look at yourself, in your shame, acknowledge your weaknesses and somehow pull yourself out of that pit. This article isn’t about working from home, it’s more that working from home, or starting your own business creates the conditions that force you to wrestle with yourself and, after a period of failure, forces you to put in a system of improvements. A system I call your personal ‘Engine of Improvement’ that drives you inexorably towards your goals. Let’s discuss!
Sounds a bit mechanical bro, I like to Live Free
“But Cam, I quit my job to rid myself of the 9–5, not seek more rigidity!” or “I don’t need a system, I just need to work harder, I’ve been so demotivated lately,” “routine = rut,” are the most common responses, amongst others, when I propose developing a system to people. It probably would’ve been mine not so long ago. “I just need to work harder”, “I just need to get up a little earlier”, “If I just drank less caffeine, I think I might settle down to work easier”. We tell ourselves that if these things fell into place our lives would be so much easier. The thing is, while they may have some truth, they never are the missing piece of the puzzle.
Having a system is like story structure. There are a few different kinds of story structure, you may have heard of the “Hero’s Journey” but even then, the vast majority of stories stick within a three-act structure. Why then, are we never bored of the stories told? Just because something has a structure in no way dictates whether we can be surprised by a plot twist. Even knowing about story structure doesn’t devalue reading or watching movies, it enhances the experience! The same is true for developing a system, it in no way means spontaneity is dead or you’ve become a robot.
I love being my own boss and having the freedom to blow off a day’s work when the sun is out or when my fiancée is sick so I can take care of her. That and the goal of being able to work with a laptop from anywhere in the world are almost the entire reason I made the leap. Thing is, before I had a system, I didn’t actually blow off a day’s work or go to other places in my own town even, let alone the world. Why? I was frequently buried by the pressure of the massive to do list, the customers I had to satisfy and all of the personal tasks I also hadn’t done. The lack of structure had in actual fact created a prison of my own making where I was less free than in my 9–5, quite the opposite of the goal.
The purpose and real value of systems engineering is… to keep going around the loop; find inadequacies and make improvements.
- Robert E. Machol
A system, naturally, is simply a set of things working together as one. In this context it is a set of things that help you hold your life together, achieve your goals, structure your work and help make the possibility of blowing off work infinitely more likely. The ‘things’ are numerous and varied and will be personal to each individual, but having one in place, contrary to popular belief, makes you more, not less, free.
Crushing Your Goals
What you aim at determines what you see
We cannot navigate, without something to aim at and, while we are in this world, we must always navigate
- Jordan B. Peterson
Simply having a goal is often of far greater power than it appears to be on the surface. I think it’s rare I see bad goals. Of course, there are evil goals like “how do I eat the last cookie without getting caught?” but on the whole the act of having a goal is a good thing. I don’t think wanting to own an Aston Martin, or owning The Jets like Gary Vaynerchuk’s, is a bad or stupid goal. I think it nearly impossible to go through life without something to aim at, so if that Hot Pink Lambo is what you want, then fill your boots. The tragic thing though, is that so many goals go unfulfilled, to the point where many only see futility rather than utility in creating them.
That’s because beyond your goal, you need to develop a system. Think of your goal as a target, the fact you’re even looking at the target increases your chances of hitting it a thousand-fold wouldn’t you say? But how will you hit it? How far away are you? What’s your projectile of choice? Some goals are close enough that a rock and good throw will hit it, but those that’re further away, you’ll need to build something to hurl your projectile, with accuracy, at the target. That something is your system.
Your goal orientates your system in the right direction and that’s a mighty good start. Then as you build your system and keep improving it you develop habits, you improve the quality and efficiency of your work, you know what and when to prioritise and it helps you make decisions. This all has the cumulative effect of drastically reducing your stress levels and allowing you to actually enjoy the pursuit of your goal. Your system is the things you do every day that get you closer to your goal.
With a good system, you’ll hit the target and you’ll find it easier to now hit other targets. The most effective individuals among us are shooting with finely tuned Barrett 50cal sniper rifles or gatling guns and all you currently have is a flimsy slingshot. Worst still, you’ve never really given much thought to upgrading your projectile hurler of choice. Is it any wonder then, that you often fall short of your goals? But don’t worry! It doesn’t have to be this way!
It’s about MORE than hitting targets
The target, in so far as it orientates the system, is thus a part of the system itself. So too are other essential components that’re often overlooked such as enjoying your down time, mindfulness, the search for meaning, relationships etc. It is often said that a good writer must live themselves, so they have experiences to call upon as they write. I believe this is true of any occupation or pursuit a person can undertake. I know, because I have lived the opposite, I have locked myself away and simply ‘worked’ over the span of 2 years or so. I only did this because I was ineffective at working, I occupied my time with never ending tasks, then when the important stuff had to be done I had to pull all-nighters and I never stopped providing customer service. It was all in service of the goal of having my own successful company, and I’m a determined son-of-a-bitch, but the rest of my life and health crumbled away. As you can see the target alone isn’t the be-all and end-all to a happy life.
After becoming my own boss, apart from my fiancé’s work placement in America which I was fortunate enough to tag along on, I didn’t take a single day of holiday. Even then, l continued to work while she also worked so not a perfect example of a ‘holiday’, but we did enjoy the evenings and weekends and it is where I proposed so I can’t discount it entirely! I digress, I was terrible at taking even the weekends off, I begrudged going to go see family or friends, because in the back of my mind I knew my to-do list would grow.
I was literally living to work, there was very little play. My system was awful, had it continued, I think I may have sought out the 9–5 to get my freedom back. Two days of freedom a week seems a lot better than no days a week. But my dream wasn’t dead yet and I’ve got some fight in these old bones. I came to the realisation more work wasn’t going to get me the freedom I wanted. Just like ‘the fear’ that is sometimes a necessary motivator, like quitting one’s job so you’ll actually start looking for a new one in earnest. I had to create the conditions I wanted for myself, today, now with real ways of motivating myself to do them.
I had to set up other, smaller targets. I had to change the habits of how I work, every day. Incrementally I put one foot in front of the other. Even if I wasn’t perfect, it was progress if I was simply better than yesterday. This is about to get real stupid in here, but hear me out. If you want to work 37 hours like a normal person, then only work 37 hours. “Ah! But my work takes longer than that! It’s impossible” I hear you cry. To wit I so cleverly say “does it though?”
Seriously, you’ve read above that in an 8hr workday most people are only actually working less than 3. How much are you ‘working but not really working’? When you set the goal of doing even just 2 effective hours in a day, with reward/punishment systems in place, you’ll be stunned at what you can achieve in that little amount of time, why you can almost achieve someone else’s entire work day. You’ll cut out unnecessary calls or meetings, you’ll stop watching your inbox and social media can easily wait. Even if you have to get a friend to change your computer password and send it you daily to lock you out, you’ll find that even the most ‘urgent’ of emails aren’t so urgent they can’t wait a day. Nobody ever sends extremely urgent, life affecting stuff over email anyway.
The point is, you have to start working and living today the way you want to work and live, or at least actively try to build what you want brick by brick towards your desired outcome. If you aren’t getting measurably closer, daily, then you need to rethink things. This encompasses more than your working hours. This is your relationships, your own piece of mind, your physical fitness etc. Many content themselves with simply switching goals if it becomes apparent they can’t achieve them. The outcome will still be the same, because they haven’t worked on their ‘engine of improvement’. They haven’t established a better way to operate, a better way to think and so they’ll fall short again and again, almost ad infinitum. We see this all the time with phenomena like yo-yo dieting, the process by which someone diets, loses weight, then gives up, puts all the weight on (and more usually), then diets the exact same way again only to repeat the cycle. The end result over a long period of time generally being much fatter than their first diet.
The only respite from this cycle is typically dreams of retirement or other such forms of escapism. Even when they get to that break, they will likely be overweight with weakened muscles because they haven’t taken care of their bodies, making them unable to take part in the activities they dreamed of. Nor have they built the necessary machinery to simply enjoy and find meaning in free time gifted to them. It is entirely foreseeable different forms of depression are likely to set in. I apologise for the bleakness of this image, but it is necessary for you to consider the risks of NOT developing a system, as much as the rewards for creating one. Stop waiting for retirement or some other condition to happen to solve all your problems and start solving them and living the way you want today.
Your System Will Protect You
The last reason I have for you today for developing your own system is that it will protect against other systems. There are many kinds of external systems, the ‘political system’ the ‘welfare system’ the ‘corporate system’, these days the ‘media machine’ is another well-known system to be cautious of. Even an individual with their own system, that may have nefarious aims, wittingly or not, is an external system that can have an impact on you. Positive outcomes are possible too, but building protection first allows you personal choice to integrate with other systems later.
If you do not develop your own system, with your own targets, beliefs, values and processes you will be more easily shaped and manipulated by the systems of others. In your career goals, in particular, a company system will have its own aims, some of them created by management, some intrinsic to corporate structures. Of course, if your goal is to excel in a corporate structure, your system must be developed to work symbiotically with it, however, that is markedly different than being bumped around by a structure you have developed no understanding of or have no way to defend yourself against.
If not careful, within a shorter time period than you might expect, the corporate system will turn you into the dreaded ‘company man’ millennial’s have been raised to fear above all else. You know the sort, the ones who have abandoned all ambition, way older than other people in the department because they’re always being passed over for promotion by younger, more enterprising colleagues. They are all too eager to express their bitterness with phrases like “out of touch management with its head up its arse” or “I’m not going to sit through another pointless company presentation”. Yet, every day despite their resentment, they come to work and plough through the drudgery. It’s really no surprise they’re embittered.
I think we can all agree that’s no way to live, right? And if you are suddenly waking up to the realisation you are that person being shaped by their external environment, good! I hope you feel I’ve done you a service. It’s always better to realise something a tad late than never at all. The one thing we know about life is it can pass in the blink of an eye, it feels too fast to slow down sometimes and before we know it, we’ve landed somewhere we had no intention of landing. On smaller or larger scales, we’ve all been there. It’s no biggy though, we’re all where we are right now and the only thing we have some control over is our present and our future.
The message here being, we should not allow ourselves to become nothing more than a cork bobbing around, swirling on the eddies of time, pushed this way and that by external forces we have no control over. By doing so, you give ‘fate’ power over your life and soul and it will decide your outcome. If you’re under any illusion as to how that’ll work out for you, “fate is a cruel mistress” is a phrase coined with good reason. Having a system gives you a force to push back with.
With a system your cork will sprout a hull and oars and, as you continue to develop it, a mast, a sail, perhaps you’ll develop some advanced equipment like a sextant. Your cork will become a ship, resistant to currents of the ocean, able to determine your own direction and your own fate. The bigger your ship, the more resilient it will become to the tallest of waves. Even if you find yourself shipwrecked, as can happen to the best of us, you’re in a better place because you know how to build a system, you can get yourself back out to sea, even if it’s a rickety old raft made with what you have to hand. You control your own destiny. Sure, there will be storms to navigate through, and perilous rocky shores, but still, you will be master and commander of your own ship!
Final Words
And that’s kind of what this funny old life is all about isn’t it? At least part of it is about becoming the master of our own destiny? The right to the pursuit of happiness. As you can see, I am passionate about the need for us all to develop our own system. We all want to get somewhere, but we haven’t figured out our mode of transportation. We’re jealous of those who speed past us in super cars, without realising they’ve taken care tuning their rusty old rover into that speed machine before taking to the road. We rarely look down and realise we’re not getting ahead because we’re travelling in horse and cart. No matter how hard we whip the horse, we won’t get there any faster.
Our system is vital to achieving our goals, and I want to dedicate part of my blog to helping others develop their engine of improvement. I’ve already explored one concept which is the feedback loop, and I would like to cover much more. But there’s no point in continuing if I’m talking into the ether, so if you’d like to know more and learn about building your system please show your interest in some way. Let me know what you’d like me to cover, what you enjoyed most or simply leave a clap or a like.
Good luck to the engine of improvement mechanics out there!
This article was written by Cameron Readman. If you’d like to know more or receive notifications for future articles, please head over to the Website and subscribe at the bottom of the page!
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