Personal Systems exist in everyday life

What personal systems can you implement to make your life better?

Surprisingly, most things we do in our day to day lives which you would know as a “Routine” are actually a “System”.  Cooking, cleaning, driving, crossing the road, mowing the lawn, blow drying your hair, are all systems that we are taught from a very young age by our parents, grand parents, guardians, teachers, etc.

Growing up, whenever I was conducting a task, my Dad would always say to me…

“Ok Krystle, what’s your system to get this done faster and better?” and to this day, I still ask myself that question on nearly every single task I conduct whether personal or business.

Systems for the men

In this day and age of gender neutral tasks, there are still some things that the majority of us women would prefer for the men in our lives to take care of.  Maybe it’s mowing the lawn, washing the car, maybe even cooking. Either way, if you ask any man, woman or child, they will always have a specific “System” to mowing the lawn.

So, how do you mow the lawn?

Is it in a square starting on the outer edge and working your way to the middle?

Or, in lengths, going from one end to the other?

Systems for the women (And those men that have luscious long locks too)

Women of all species love to take pride in the way they look.  It makes us feel confident knowing we’ve dressed right to play with our kids at the park, or for success in the boardroom or even in a sexy dress for our partner.  A big part of the way we look is our hair. Most women spend hours at the hairdressers every few months and some even spend hours each day / week maintaining it.  

If you blow dry your hair, how do you do it?  This might sound like a weird question but, do you start from the top and work your way down?  Or, do you start from the bottom and work your way up? Either way, most women who blow dry their hair will have a very specific way to do it to ensure it looks “Just right” for as long as possible!

Systems in the Kitchen

One system that always gets me interested at the dinner table is how every single person has a completely different way of building a taco…  Who can relate?

Some layer all their toppings in equal portions, some prefer the sauce on the bottom, some don’t like sauce at all.  Others may prefer the cheese on the bottom so it melts under the meat and gets all gooey. Some don’t put all the trimmings at all and just prefer meat…  Doesn’t matter how you like to build your taco, guaranteed that you’ll have a system without realising it. Next time you make tacos, watch / ask how everyone does it.

Systems for Kids

We learn to implement personal systems from a very young age.  How to read from the left to the right side of the page, how to build a sand castle from the ground up and dig tunnels that won’t collapse.  The most prominent system that comes to mind is teaching our kids to cross the road, look left, look right and look left again. This not only ascertains that it’s safe on all levels to cross, it is also a system that our little people can quickly and easily remember and put into practice every single time.

Why personal systems help us succeed

Life is hard and messy and chaotic and fast especially if you have kids.  If you haven’t planned your day, week or month and implemented personal systems, I can pretty much guarantee that at some point all the balls you’ve been trying so hard to keep in the air at once will come crashing down. Someone will get yelled at (Partner, kids, the person on the other end of the Telstra line sorting out your phone bill) and you will no doubt feel like s&%t.  

By implementing easy routines and systems, you can effectively organise your day to day life better and set yourself up for success at the same time.  I know most of you will already have some great personal systems in place, but have you ever taken the time to ask yourself, “Can I do this better or faster?”