Newsletter Week 06 | 2022

View this email in your browser

Hey there.I hope you've had a great week.

What I've made for you

Article: How I Manage Projects and Goals in ObsidianI'm super excited to share this system with you, because it has allowed me to get a better overview of my goals and the initiatives I'm taking to accomplish them.

Twitter Thread: This Monday, I shared a thread on how you can create a Habit Tracker in Obsidian.

That time never comes

Something I've come to realize is that there's never going to be a 'right time' to do anything. Whether it's to

• Sit down and create,

• Spend time on your side projects,

• Get in better shape,

• Read more,

• Explore your hobbies, or

• Start a business.

The day when we think, "Wow, the stars aligned today. I'll start right now!" just never comes. You have to make time.

Setting goals

I have two heuristics when it comes to setting goals:

1. Do not set goals for external outcomes

2. Systems over goals

Let me explain.

Do not set goals for external outcomes

What you can control one day, you may not be able to control another. Some days you may be able to control something to a great degree; others, not so much.

It's not that external measures don't matter at all (they do), it's just that basing everything around them is a bad idea.

Focus on what you can control. Do the best you can do.

You can use external measures as guides. They can help you adjust and improve your systems. Which leads me to...

Systems over goals

Goals are good for charting the course, but it is systems that facilitates progress.Focus less on setting goals, and more on improving and optimizing your systems.

Goals are desired results. Systems are the processes that lead to those.We think that setting goals is how we achieve what we want. What results in achievement is action. Sure, have a direction. But focus on the process.

A system without a goal is useless. You cannot optimize a process if you don't care about the output of the process. Likewise, a goal without a system is just a wish.

Achieving a goal is a temporary win. If you keep the same habits that lead to you wanting to change your situation in the first place, you'll end up right back there again, hoping for another burst of motivation to change. This is treating a symptom without addressing the cause.

Goals are binary. Either you achieve them, or you don't. If you achieve them, you are a success. If you fail, you are a disappointment.Systems allow you to judge your success by whether your system is working or not. They can be seen as experiments. If it doesn't work, you change it until it does.

And when you've achieved your goal, what then? Do you just stop? One and done?By focusing on the process, you know what's next.Every time you apply your system, you win—you achieve your goal. You did what you intended to do.

Quote

To your success. Regards,

Christian Bager Bach Houmann