Systems Alone Won't Help You Achieve Your Goals
Read Time: 2 min
Why experience design is better than smart goal setting and productivity systems.
Learn how to work efficiently and why making a plan isn't enough.
I learned how to set goals years ago.
I even learned how to make them SMART and lean.
It still didn't help me achieve my goals.
I learned that I need systems to achieve my goals.
So, I built systems, and they made vast improvements in my productivity.
I finally reached some of my goals.
I spend a lot of my time designing and tweaking systems, though.
Until I finished designing one system, it was already outdated.
Sticking with a system for a long time to unfold its value is so incredibly difficult.
I find it cumbersome and boring to execute most systems.
I'm just doing the do.
Everyone else could do that for me.
I don't see a purpose in executing boring systems.
Soon, I didn't execute my systems anymore because I didn't want to do them.
This is when I realized games could be the answer.
I spend hours and hours playing and grinding video games.
It's all to beat the game, and I'm doing that for free.
What's the difference between games and my systems?
I noticed that systems and goals often lack excitement.
They're built in a way that doesn't get me into flow.
I realized I needed to turn my systems and goals into exciting, fun experiences for myself.
Nothing is more powerful for reaching goals than exciting, fun experiences.
This is why all these productivity systems I tried over the years didn't work for me.
Each focused on different ways of defining goals or forcing a structure on systems only.
They didn't help me crushing my goals effortlessly.
With the right experience design executing systems becomes effortless.
I've discussed the importance of achieving a flow state in my work for years.
Flow is what lets me immerse myself in games for hours.
And I emerge on the other side with more energy than when I started.
I learned firsthand how flow lets us learn any topic quickly and in a lasting manner.
When I'm in a flow state, I am engaged deeply with the topic.
The deeper I'm engaged, the faster I learn.
I found one activity that helped me get into a state of flow more than anything else.
No gamification guru ever mentions this.
And I don't need any tools to do it.
It's really simple:
I block enough focused, uninterrupted time for what I want to do.
With focus time blocks, I get into flow faster and longer than any other method I have tried.
This is because I can finally focus on one thing alone.
I enjoyed games most when I didn't have anything planned afterwards.
There is no deadline, upcoming meeting, or other things to do.
The thought of "not missing that next thing on the list” blocks me from getting into a flow.
I started doing my most important work right after waking up.
And I adjust my schedule so nothing else distracts me until I'm done with this work.
The crazy thing is:
I achieve more by having less on my to-do list.
I found that startups usually don't need more employees.
They also don't need to do things faster or more of it.
Instead, they must focus, do less, and improve their work experience.
You can start using this simple time-blocking method today without any cost.
It is the first small step that greatly shapes your work experience.
As a result, executing your systems and achieving your goals takes less effort.
I hope doing one thing instead of many in a day helps you as much as it helped me.
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Thanks for reading to the end!
You rock!
Cheers,
Marcel