I had a different email planned, but last week I tested positive for Covid which threw that off schedule. Fortunately, my symptoms were mild, and after self-isolation ended, I re-joined Amy in the not-so-delicate juggle of childcare and working from home. It was a flashback to April 2020, our first foray into lockdown life.
Despite having both Oliver and Annabel this time (AND one-third of the living space we had in Albany), everything felt… easier.
Part of this is attributable to greater certainty around Covid:
- You can expect mild symptoms (if you’re reasonably healthy)
- You can expect lockdown to end (eventually)
- You can expect access to essentials (remember when finding toilet paper was like a Banksy sighting?)
None of this was true 18 months ago. As difficult as it is, we’ve made progress. It’ll continue to get better.
Stuck in the apartment with two toddlers while hopping on and off Zoom calls, I half-expected to emerge from the family quarantine like Oh Dae-Su coming out of his hotel room after 15 years of captivity.
But this morning, I realized there was no “catching up” to do. We picked up exactly where we left off.
A great James Clear quote describes what I think happened:
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
What does Clear mean by “system?” A system is a set of things working together as part of a network. Systems exist along a spectrum of complexity.
On the “simple” end, the action doesn’t require conscious thought or effort. For example, you wake up and then brush your teeth.
On the “complex” end of the spectrum, systems can be technology-enabled automation: an action is completed automatically via a combination of software and hardware, without any direct intervention from you. For example, your thermostat automatically lowers the room’s temperature at 9pm.
Systems might be too fancy of a word. You can also call it routines, checklists, or habits.
What systems kept our life relatively sanguine post-quarantine? A few off the top of my head:
- Get dressed every morning. It doesn’t matter that I work from home, if I have no meetings, or if I’m laid up in bed. The act of “suiting up” gets me ready for the day.
- Get outside. Sunlight exposure helps regulate hormones like serotonin and melatonin, improving cognitive function and reducing depression (Environ Health, 2009, S. Kent, L. McClure, etc.).
- Groceries, food delivery, and meals. I order groceries for delivery twice a week and meal delivery for 3 nights out of the week. During the weekdays, all my meals look the same, so I never spend time thinking about what to eat.
- Finances are automated. Direct deposit paychecks, auto-pay bills, and monthly auto-investments. Once you’ve reached financial stability, invest in a few financial systems and save hours every month.
- Protecting my time. I’ve used the Freedom app for a few years now. It continues to be my best productivity investment. The app kicks on in the afternoon and evening and helps me focus on the tasks that matter vs. chasing that dopamine kick.
- Exercise. I exercise every day. This isn’t as impressive as it sounds; I’ve made it stupidily easy for myself. I have a pull-bar bar and follow a simple rule: walk under it, do 5 pull-ups. While I’m there, usually I do a few more… then throw in 10 push-ups. This hack was inspired by Faras Zahabi’s The Power of Creating Momentum, which I highly recommend watching (10m).
- Turn off Slack. This has been essential for shutting down, especially since my job mostly keeps east coast hours.
- Put away the toys. Our living space gets a clean slate at the end of the day. It doesn’t matter how tired we are or how late it is.
- Check-ins. I look at the schedule for tomorrow and write down calls, dinner time, and the dinner menu. The family reviews the schedule in the morning at breakfast.
Some of these feel painfully obvious, which is the point. Most systems should be simple, in theory. The challenge is implementing them consistently, every day, without fail.
The culmination of this consistency turned a not-so-great situation into a manageable one. We’re back on track for what we want to accomplish in 2022.
As with everything, there are levels to building systems. In particular, I’m inspired by Louis Grenier who built his system to take three months paternity leave. And Pieter Levels built up his systems to the point where he’s unreachable.
(I’m not saying being unreachable is my goal, just that it’s an ambitious level of system building.)
When your life starts to feel chaotic or unmanageable, ask yourself: what are the simplest systems you can fall back on? The easy way to do this is to follow these three steps:
- Write out your habits. Write out all your routines and habits from when you wake up until you sleep. Remember, this should be what you actually do, not what you aspire to do.
- Identify habits you want to keep or do more. How can you make the habits you want to keep easier?
- Identify habits you want to do less or eliminate. How can you make these harder?
Did you enjoy this edition of The Connection? What would you like to hear more about? Let me know, I love the feedback.
