I was recently listening to The Diary of a CEO podcast with James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (a book I'd highly recommend if you haven't already read it!).

Now, I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to learning, so whenever I'm listening to a podcast or audiobook, I tend to pause it every now and again to make notes.

One line in particular really stood out to me:

"We don't rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our systems."

As business owners, we spend a lot of time setting goals.

We want to launch the course.

Grow the business.

Become more visible.

Send regular newsletters.

Update the website.

Finally tackle that project that's been sitting on the to-do list for months.

But having the goal isn't usually the difficult part.

The difficult part is creating the systems that help you consistently work towards it.

What do we actually mean by "systems"?

When James Clear talks about systems, he isn't talking about your CRM, your project management software or the latest automation.

He's talking about the routines, habits and processes you repeat over and over again.

The things that make taking action easier.

For example…

If your goal is to send a monthly newsletter, what's the system?

Perhaps it's blocking an hour out in your diary on the first Monday of every month to write it.

If your goal is to become more visible online, maybe your system is spending 30 minutes every Friday planning next week's content.

If your goal is to network more, perhaps it's booking one networking event into your diary before the start of every month.

The goal tells you where you want to go.

The system is what helps you get there.

Your daily habits will always win

Another brilliant point James made was:

"If there's a gap between your goals and your daily habits, your daily habits will almost always win."

Think about that for a moment.

If your goal is to write a book, but your daily habit is checking emails every spare minute, which one is going to win?

If your goal is to grow your audience, but you never schedule time for marketing, which one is going to win?

If your goal is to launch a new offer, but every day is spent reacting to client work, which one is going to win?

It's rarely that we don't care about our goals, it's that our habits and routines quietly take over.

A simple exercise

If you're not sure whether you have the right systems in place, try this.

Pick one business goal you have for the rest of this year.

Now ask yourself these three questions:

• What system do I already have in place to help me achieve it?

• If I don't have one, what's one small action I could repeat every week?

• Is that action already in my diary, or am I simply hoping I'll find the time?

There's a big difference between intending to do something and making time to do it.

Who do you want to become?

Another thing I wrote down was this…

Instead of asking:

"What do I want to achieve?"

Ask:

"Who do I want to become?"

Now. if your goal is to run five miles every day, that's a huge leap if you've never run before.

So instead of focusing on the five miles, start by becoming a runner.

Buy the trainers.

Wear the trainers.

Go for a short walk.

Run for five minutes.

Repeat.

Each small action reinforces your identity.

You're no longer trying to achieve a goal, you're becoming the type of person who runs.

Exactly the same applies in business.

Instead of asking:

"How do I grow my business?"

Try asking:

"What would someone who consistently grows their business do?"

They'd make time for marketing.

They'd follow up enquiries.

They'd build relationships.

They'd plan ahead.

They'd keep showing up, even when they didn't feel like it.

Because every small action reinforces the identity of the business owner they're becoming.

Hats, haircuts and tattoos

Now this was something I hadn’t heard before!

James talked about three types of decisions.

A hat is easy to change.

A haircut takes a little more thought because you'll live with it for a while.

A tattoo is much harder to reverse, so naturally you spend much longer making the decision.

However, many of us treat everyday business decisions like tattoos.

We spend weeks overthinking things that are really just "hat" decisions.

Should I post that piece of content?

Should I send the newsletter?

Should I attend that networking event?

Should I launch the offer?

Sometimes the biggest thing holding us back isn't making the wrong decision.

It's spending too long trying to make one!

Small actions really do add up

Success isn't usually built through huge bursts of motivation, it's built through small, consistent actions.

You don't need to overhaul your business overnight.

You don't need the perfect plan.

You don't need to wait until Monday.

You just need to ask yourself:

What's one small action I can repeat consistently?

Because those small actions compound over time.

My final thought

Goals are important, of course they are, without them, we don't know where we're heading.

But goals alone don't create progress.

Systems do.

So perhaps instead of asking yourself:

"What's my next goal?"

Try asking:

"What's one simple system could I put in place that Future Me will thank me for?"

You might be surprised how much difference that one question makes.

Need help putting those systems into practice?

I created my Momentum & Accountability support for business owners who know what they need to do but struggle to consistently get it done.

This isn’t because they aren't capable or they don't have enough ideas.

It’s usually because life gets busy, priorities change, client work takes over and those important tasks keep getting pushed to "next week".

Together, we'll create simple, realistic systems that work for you, help you prioritise what matters most and keep you accountable so the important things don't keep slipping down the list.

This isn’t VA support, this is accountability, someone in your corner to help you stay focused, keep the momentum going and actually follow through.

If that sounds like something you'd benefit from, I'd love to have a chat.