On Goals vs. Systems & Why I’m shifting my focus
Among the many reflections I’ve had since Covid-19 changed our lives, shifting my focus from goals to systems has been in my top 5. Before this year took a swift turn, I always made a list of goals for myself and worked really hard on making them happen. It felt nice to work towards something but I always felt guilty along the ways as if I should work faster and harder to reach the end result. The journey was less appealing because my goal is what I valued. In the last few months, I shifted my energy from goal-getting to creating “systems” since I felt such a complete loss of control over.. well, everything except just my day to day habits. The business goals I wrote for myself felt so out of reach and I realized I needed a significant mental shift if I was going to continue doing what I loved.
With so much more time on my hands, I made a list of entrepreneurial skills I always wanted to learn. For me, those included learning
Adobe InDesign
Squarespace
Writing an E-Book
Working with a Virtual Assistant
Accounting
Creating an Online Course
Video Editing
Learning how to use IG stories
Reaching more women who could benefit from my work .. marketing, essentially.
Since the idea of “systems” is to focus on the journey and the overall trajectory of where you want to go with your life and business, I felt a lot of relief knowing that I wasn’t just trying to get to the the final goal. I started enjoying building my skills in all of the categories above and I’ve learned more in the last 4 months than I did in the last three years, simply by shifting my focus to systems.
Instead of telling myself I had to create an E-Book within a certain time frame (goal), I kept myself motivated to work on my general E-Book idea within InDesign for 20 minutes every other day (system). This system helped me build momentum, without burning out, and I completed my E-Book at a steady pace. After the E-Book, I was loving the process so much that I started making printable guides for myself and for sale.
Similarly, instead of pushing myself to put out a certain number of planning videos in a quarter (goal), I tried to have my equipment at the ready so I could create footage every three weeks or so for a new video (system).
This is the same flexibility I’m using to create my online course, which is almost in the final stages alhumdulillah. I created my outline for the course at the start of July (after taking a social media break. which freed up quite a bit of time), and steadily worked on each module. I feel like each time I do something related to the project is a win because I am growing and learning for the sake of growing and learning, and not only to reach the final product / end. It’s a gratifying process to shift the focus to systems, and with the amount of unpredictability we are all facing, I encourage you to try this as well.
I will add however, that I do think goals are still very helpful in the short-term but for long-term projects, it’s a great help to think about the overall direction you want to go and take the more scenic route by enjoying the journey. :)
P.S.: I am really excited to share more details about the course when it’s ready in a couple more weeks inshaAllah! It’s perfect for you if you’ve ever been curious about the back-end of creating and launching a product (I’m sharing my entire journey about launching my planner business in the course) along with essential tools for keeping yourself focused and motivated to launch what you love. Stay tuned!
What are some of the changes you have made since March? What are some new reflections you have had? Do share :)
Till next time,
Asma
