Something feels different about 2023. I have been saying that since December 2022. I feel like this is the year you and I are going to get our shit together. It is going to come naturally to us to accomplish the things we want to do.
How can we create systems that can help us achieve our goals?
Across social media, you can hear a bunch of people saying don’t set goals for the year… create systems. Which is true… Setting a goal without a system in place leaves you open to failure. We are NOT doing that this year. I think it is great to have goals but you must create a plan/system for you to be able to execute what the prize is that we are setting our eyes on.
How To Create Systems For Goals
Let’s take me for example….. When the new year started I sat myself down and created a list of 36 things I wanted to work on this year. 36 new habits I want to incorporate into my life. I know that sounds like a lot, but trust me when I say I am NOT adding all 36 into my life right now.
The overall goal of 2023 is to create new habits and in order to do that we really ONLY need to work on a few at a time.
Taking the time to create systems around the goals you want to achieve will help you and me in the long run by limiting burnout, not becoming overwhelmed, and having a plan in motion to help reach those goals. No more flying by the seat of our pants and hoping it works out.
Creating Systems For Your Life
Dr. Maxwell Maltz created the 21/90 rule in 1960. Stating that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent lifestyle change. After you complete the 90 days, the habit will be as much a part of your daily life as brushing your teeth, or changing your underwear.
So the plan is to work on 3-4 things making them a part of my day for 28-31 days so it becomes a routine and continuing to do it so it becomes a permanent fixture in my life. Then it becomes second nature to me I will add another one. As long as I have the plan to back it up.
Let’s get into how to create systems to help you achieve your goals!
Vitamins
It is no secret and I have talked about this before but I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and one thing I really needed to do is start putting systems in place to help me manage my symptoms. I bought all these vitamins to help but never remember to take them. There are about 6 I take. I told Mike for Christmas that I wanted one of those handy dandy pill organizers. Having to open 6 different pill bottles really discouraged me from taking them.
So to help with taking them every day he got me the pill organizer. I fill it up on Sundays and leave it on my counter with a bottle of water. It is January 24th and I have taken my vitamins every day. I made it a part of my morning routine.
When I wake up I take my bottle of water and take all of my vitamins. I then make myself breakfast which is normally eggs on toast with a little hot sauce. I wait an hour and a half to have my morning coffee because I also learned that when you wake up in the morning your cortisol levels are high and coffee spikes them even higher which causes weight gain.
Granted I am down 30lbs since October and just started implementing this… So I am curious to see if this helps my PCOS.
My goal I wanted to add to my life: Taking my vitamins
The system I put in place: Using a pill organizer to have my vitamins ready and waiting for me to take them in the morning. And then I ended up adding making breakfast every day and waiting to have my morning coffee. Not necessary but a nice added bonus.
Cleaning
Cleaning the house is the BANE of my existence. Fridays I will spend all day cleaning every nook and cranny of the house and by Monday the house is trashed again. I learned from my mother that one day a week is used for cleaning the house. I don’t know about you… but I don’t want to spend a WHOLE day cleaning.
So I assigned one room in my house to one day of the week. This is the only room I DEEP clean on that particular day and I created a 30-minute Morning and Nightly reset routine to “maintain” the house.
Cleaning Schedule
Sunday: Office
Monday: Bedroom
Tuesday: Hall, Closet, and Bathroom
Wednesday: Kitchen
Thursday: Living Room
Friday: Outside Front/Back Yard
Saturday: Laundry Room
Morning Routine:
Put away dishes
Check garbage cans (take out if needed)
Take dinner out to thaw
Throw in a load of laundry/dry (if needed)
Nightly:
Wash dinner dishes
Check garbage cans (take out if needed)
Put laundry away (if needed)
A quick reset kitchen, Living Room, Bathroom, and Office
Not having to do EVERYTHING all in one day make me more relaxed and not overwhelmed. That seems to be a recurring theme this year. Not to be overwhelmed, but also to be productive. Making good use of our time. Slower living to enjoy other things in life.
My goal I wanted to add to my life: Create a better cleaning schedule.
The system I put in place: Assigning one room to a day of the week and a morning/nightly reset routine.
Laundry
Another thing my mother ALWAYS made a one day a week thing. Laundry. I LOATH with the passion of a thousand firey suns spending a whole damn day doing laundry. It was always laundry/cleaning day. Spent more time going back and forth throwing a load in. Hopefully, remember to come put it in the dryer and then pray once more you remember to put it away.
You throw a load in start another project in your house and THEN stop what you are doing to switch over the laundry or put it away. UGH!!!! I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. So overwhelming and sometimes I would forget I had a load in the washer. Back in November, I washed the same load 4 times because I kept forgetting it was in there.
So per my cleaning schedule from above… if the laundry basket is full I throw it in the washer in the morning… et a timer to dry it and put it away when it comes to my nightly reset. I am NOT living my life around doing laundry and cleaning my house.
Put the laundry basket where I can see it and see that it is full. No hiding it in the closet.
My goal I wanted to add to my life: Stay caught up with laundry.
The system I put in place: Wash one load every other day. (if needed) and put the laundry basket where I can see it
Journaling
One thing I slacked on in 2021 and 2022 was journaling. I was doing really good went on vacation in 2021 left my journal at home and barely touched it since. I would write things here and there but didn’t make it a habit. I got so focused on having perfect Pinterest-worthy layouts and spent more time decorating pages than actually journaling. This year I am calling it my “simple” journal.
Yes, I am still decorating pages but I can only decorate another page once I write an entry on the page I just decorated.
I created a system for myself… First and foremost my journal sits on my desk right next to my computer in plain view so I can’t say I don’t see it. In the morning after I take my vitamins, and make my coffee, I go sit at my desk and fill out my journal trackers and make a to-do list. I do this all in my journal.
At night I go live on TikTok to decorate a journal page and as soon as my live is over I journal about my day.
My goal I wanted to add to my life: Journal every day for mental clarity
The system I put in place: My journal sits right on my desk. I fill out my journal in the morning and at night after going TikTok live.
Creating better habits
One of the other goals I want to achieve this year is to read more and I say that every year. I have been getting better but it is nowhere near where I want it to be. I bring this up because Atomic Habits By James Clear is on my reading list.
Atomic Habits focuses on habits and how they can help people improve their lives.
So I know nothing about this book but found an Atomic Habits Cheat Sheet to go along with the book. It gives a little summary of what the book is about and one part that suck out to me was this little chart.
I am trying to form good habits and realized I was following most of these laws when trying to create the systems around the goals I wanted to accomplish.
I am trying to make my goals MORE VISIBLE, and EASIER to me. Because I have come to realize I am one of those people who if it is out of sight… It is out of my mind.
Creating Systems For Success
I am determined this year to kick some bad habits, but more so I want to create good habits first. I just added another goal for this year… So make that 37 goals I want to achieve this year. LOL
Every month I will come back and update this list of habits I created, what worked and what didn’t, and see if, by the end of 2023, I have 36 new habits that help me reach my goals and a record of my progress.
Let me know in the comments what are your goals/habits you want to make or break this year.
Until next time, have a great day! Remember you are a badass!
