At the risk of sounding a bit dramatic, I want to introduce you to something that has completely changed my life. It is the combination of two concepts in productivity that have given me more peace while helping me continue moving forward with goals in my life and work.
Concept 1
Find the smallest step in whatever you want to do. When I say smallest, I mean almost ridiculously small, so that it seems silly to consider it a step. This idea comes from a practice in Japan. Kaizen, is a Japanese term meaning “change for the better” or “continuous improvement.” It is a philosophy and set of practices that focus on continuous improvement in manufacturing, engineering, business management, and other industries. One component of kaizen is incremental change. Incremental change is an emphasis on making small changes rather than radical transformations. These small changes accumulate over time, leading to substantial improvements.
If you are wanting to meditate daily, that small step might be sitting in a spot that would be ideal for meditating. That’s it. Just go to that spot every day and sit. Do that daily for two to four weeks. After a few weeks, you can add to it. Now, you may think that is too basic, and you might be right. Maybe you want to sit in that spot and turn on meditation music for one minute. As long as you do that every day for two to four weeks. This is creating a habit. Once it is so easy and so second nature, you can add to it. James Clear wrote about this in his book, Atomic Habits. He called it “standardizing before optimizing.” Standardize a small step.
Ideas
Some ideas to get you started include opening up the computer and writing three sentences if you want to write a novel. Change into running shoes and walking outside, if you want to become a runner. Open up a book and read one page if you are trying to read more books this year. Keep in mind that these examples were for starting a brand-new habit. If you already have a habit that needs optimizing, increase it in small ways.
Concept 2
Set up systems for your goals. Systems refer to the routines, habits, and processes that we follow to achieve our goals. A system is a set of actions performed regularly that lead to incremental progress over time. For instance, a system for keeping up with emails might be to read and return emails from 8:30 to 9:00 every workday.
Much like the small incremental steps in Concept 1, adhering to a system helps create positive habits that become second nature. This will make it easier to maintain progress even after achieving initial goals. Systems can adapt as needed. This flexibility allows for goals to be achieved less rigidly.
Combining systems with the small incremental steps, concepts 1 and 2, has been the magic I needed in my life. It is hard to become overwhelmed when you are looking for the smallest step that you can sustainably do, potentially forever. Add that into a system where you can gradually augment it up over time, and you are unstoppable.
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