Hi guys and welcome back to Change Wired podcast. On this podcast, I, your host, angela Sharina, and together we are talking about discovering, learning, implementing all the best known systems for change self-change, change of others, change of the world of our businesses, change wired. We humans are actually designed to be the most adaptable species, but somehow, because also we are designed to be the most effective species and our brain habituates a lot of things, we sometimes can become worse than ants and monkeys at changing our behavior to become better adaptable to our environment, especially when change is flying at us at mind-boggling speeds, as sometimes it feels it does. Now Change Today. We are talking about Today. Well, let's start with the quote that I wanted to be inspired by for this podcast we don't rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems. This quote goes back to Stoics. It's also been used by some of the best thinkers on habits and goal achieving, like James Clear. It's been used by many, many people and it speaks to the simple fact that goals will not guarantee success. In fact, they are worse than systems, and we're going to define systems and goals in just a moment at helping you to achieve especially challenging outcomes and especially challenging goals. So goals, goals are the outcome. It's what we want to get right. We want to have a fit body, we want to have great business, we want to have amazing relationships, we want to have amazing lives. So those are goals and we quantify them to have better system of tracking progress towards certain outcomes and goals. But let's say you have a goal of writing a book. It's an outcome. But what's actually going to lead you there is not having the goal but having systems in place to do the habits, to do the actions, to take the actions, to have the ability or the opportunity to reach those goals. So goals, the desired outcomes or destination example writing a book, launching a business, getting fit systems, the daily routines, processes and habits that lead to those outcomes. Example writing 500 words daily, dedicating one hour to sales outreach, exercising 30 minutes a day, every day. There have been quite a few systems created for helping you to have a better system to make sure that you do desired actions.
Speaker 1But, guys, the main theme of today's podcast, something I want to reflect you on, is that very often you fail your goals. All of us fail our goals, our aspirations to achieve our outcomes, because we think that just having a goal and even having a plan in mind how we're going to get there is all that's needed to achieve that goal. But what I find with myself and with my clients unless it's on your calendar, it's not going to happen. What do I mean here? Well, you can have a goal to become fitter and I don't know, run a certain amount of miles or have a certain body fat percentage or certain muscle groups developed but thinking about that goal or having a better plan or strategizing more will give you less results than simply putting 30 minutes in your calendar for a daily workout. In fact, that's how I get to look like almost like a fitness model, and everyone asks me you must be working out a lot. No, not really. I've just been going for a 30-minute workout every day for the past more than 20 years. Another example you might want to start eating healthier so you have more energy every day and down the road you can be agile, you can think faster because you're going to have great brain health. You can be running with your kids, grandkids or your partner on different adventures, because nutrition is what's your build-up. But you can be thinking and learning all you want about healthy eating, different diets and protocols, but unless you start, you put together a plan in place Specifically, when are you going to go healthy grocery shopping?
Speaker 1How are you going to cook your food? When are you going to get all these healthy foods that you're thinking about getting? So get down to details. My routine for healthy eating is very simple. I'm going to Every Saturday I go shopping.
Speaker 1I dedicate one hour when I order food Sometimes I order from fish or meat dealers Then I go to a grocery store if I go or I order food. So I dedicate one day a week to specifically plan out how I'm going to be getting all these foods that can be on my plate throughout the week. Then I buy them and then on my calendar, I make sure that there is time to cook and eat my food, because if it's not there, all the stuff that I can get busy with is just going to get right into my schedule and have me no time, leave me with no time for cooking and eating that food and also how your food is important for your gut health and your stress levels, etc. So I don't want to be sitting in front of my computer rushing through email while eating the same thing with my clients. A lot of times my busy executive and business owners clients would come to me and talk to.
The fact is, well, I'm going through the cycles of burning myself out and I don't want to be going through the cycles and I would often ask them, in some way, what's your anti-burnout system? Do you plan your sleep, one of the most important tools to prevent burnout? Do you plan eight hours of solid sleep on the same schedule in your calendar? Do you plan in breaks, time off that you personally need to recharge your batteries? Do you plan time in nature and outside so you get? Nature is one of the most profound tools to lower your stress levels. It's even prescribed in countries like New Zealand and Japan, where they are more open to different approaches than I don't know what's used in traditional medicine. So do you plan that on your schedule? Do you have anti-burnout system? I would have this dichotomy when my clients would say, yeah, I don't want to burn out and I understand that I need to sleep more, but I get busy. I'm like well, let's put your sleep in your calendar and your time off and you're not allowed to schedule anything in on that and unless it's live or die emergency for you or your loved ones. You're not going to change that. How about that? And then you start hearing all the excuses I'm like. Well, that's why you go through cycles of burning out and it's not for me to say what is right for you or wrong for you to do, but it is my place because you hired me as a coach to point out, to make you aware of this fact, that you're consciously choosing your cycles of burning out because you're consciously choosing of not prioritizing your sleep, not putting it on your calendar, so you actually have the opportunity to do the thing that prevents burnout.
Let's talk more about some of the popular systems for getting things done, for achieving the desired outcome. Getting Things Done by David Allen you can look it up has been around for a couple of decades. It's all about, well, what it says getting things done. And David Allen is all about breaking down complex tasks like writing a book, finishing this change management project or remodeling your apartment, whatever that is. He always says if a task has many subsequent steps, then each step is a task. So you need to break down a complex project into tasks, which is just one action, and then put that into your calendar with the time required, usually with a slack, because nothing usually goes according to our plan, and that's how you make sure that everything you need to get done actually gets done, because if you put it on your calendar and you block it out, you'll be aware that at this time in my day, on these days, I'm going to be taking care of this specific task. Then we have also from James Clear, mentioned above, the author of Atomic Habits very popular book, if you haven't picked it up on forming habits, breaking habits and, in general, also getting things done right. He also has this two-minute rule If something takes two minutes, just do it instead of thinking about it. Oh, I should reach out to this person. Oh, I should reach out to this person. If it's a two-minute thing sending a message, do it. Time blocking, also very popular by Carl Newport, the author of Deep Work Basically putting on your calendar blocks of time dedicated to specific projects, like for me, for example, outreaching to my potential clients.
Speaker 1I'm not thinking about I need to do more outreach, no, it's my business habit that I decided to develop and I put it on my calendar and so when, let's say, today it's 2 pm, I'm going to be doing exactly that. It's in my calendar to start reaching out to potential clients. But all of these systems talk to the same fact that it has to be on your calendar. Let's look at another very personal example for me, which a lot of people relate to.
Speaker 1If you want to study more, learn more because you want to improve in your profession, in your area of expertise, and you're like, yeah, I got to learn more, I got to read more on this, this, I gotta study more. But if study time isn't in your calendar, you're not gonna do it. People always say I wanna read more books. Well, show me reading time on your calendar. What's your system for reading? For me, I have two hours a day, at the very least, 90 minutes. When I block things out, I close my laptop, I close my work and I dedicate to reading and learning. Sometimes it's learning about how to do better offers and improve my business in many other ways. Sometimes it's reading a book, but I have this learning time and so, unless there is a priority or emergency, I have a reading and learning system or basically, time on my calendar. So if you want to read more books and you can relate to that, you're not going to read books, more books, unless there is some system which reflects the fact that it's on your calendar.
When is your reading time? As simple as it sounds Very often I would find, especially with ambitious people, but these days it's to be honest, guys, everyone, we people decide I want to do this and this and this and that, and we're like there are only 16 hours, 18 hours, whatever, that is, hours that you are awake. So you can't just decide to stretch it out limitlessly. You got to prioritize and put things that you're serious about, that are meaningful to you, that are fulfilling for you, on your calendar, and the rest of the stuff you just have to miss out on. The time is not stretchable. Yes, you can have it all, but not at the same freaking time and this is the whole idea of today's podcast.
Speaker 1If you're struggling with the outcome, with the goal, if you always find yourself in this space, well, yes, I want to be healthier. I don't want to burn out. I want to have better relationships. I want to read more, I want to exercise more, I need to do more reach outs, I need to learn more about my business. I need to learn more about AI. If it's not on your calendar. If there is no system, guess what? Not going to happen. The world is going to get noisier, busier, more, flying at the speed of light, and unless you put things on your calendar and you understand why you prioritize, you create a system for you to keep working consistently to that aspiration, it is not going to happen. For example, one of the things that I want to improve at a lot is speaking, and so I've been failing to improve my speaking because I've been failing to put it on my calendar, and so this weekend I have two hours. When I put on my calendar, I'm like I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do, but this is dedicated time to my speaking and I'm treating it like a meeting and nothing is going to stand between me and improving my speaking ability. And that's the end of this podcast episode.
Speaker 1Guys, we don't rise. Nobody rises to the level of our aspirations. We fall to the level of our systems or our training. So what is on your calendar? Analyze that, and that is what your life is going to become in a few weeks, months and years. Make sure that every aspiration, that everything you say is important, has a place on your calendar. Yes, call it a time with your loved ones or your friends, your business improvement, your self-development plan, your reading plan all of it has to be on your calendar. And yes, for a lot more people these days, even sleep has to be on your calendar, so you don't schedule meetings or whatever it is you can schedule there. So everything has to be on your calendar. There has to be a system and that's when the results are going to become just a side effect. Just think of exercise. I don't really think much about exercise. I just have a system when I go every morning and I exercise, that's it, and the rest kind of follows, that's it.
Speaker 1Folks, if you learned something useful, if you love this podcast episode and you think somebody in your social circle, somebody you admire, somebody you care about, can benefit from this podcast episode, then please do share with them so you could also perhaps work together socially on your aspirations and systems to support those aspirations so you can make more awesome things happen. Thank you, guys for tuning in. Thank you for listening. Please review rate share. That's the only way this podcast can spread to other people's ears and improve the world. Let's together improve the world. So high five virtually. And till next time. Your homework is to think of all of the aspirations, all of the I want to do acts and for each of those, sit down and create a system. Put on the calendar your actions that will lead towards you achieving this aspiration. Want to read more books? When is your reading time? Thank you, guys for tuning in. Have an awesome below awesome day, and we'll talk about change very soon.