Systems vs Habits
Yes, There's Gray Area
As someone with ADHD, habits are a bittersweet idea. Do something almost without thinking about it? Sounds great! Too bad my brain tends toward making habits a bit more ethereal.
I'm definitely not the first person to think about this:
- Why systems are better than habits. - Rock Your Writing
- Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead.
- Systems vs Habits: A New Approach for Achievement | by Marquis Harris | Medium
Neurodivergence for me means that I need systems to make sure I'm doing things they way I want in a consistent way. Of course, I also don't like rigidity and using the things that help (sometimes helping the most). Habits don't really form, and if I don't have a system to follow then either steps get missed or might not get done.
Small example: making coffee
I would get it all ready the night before so we could wake up to a fresh pot. I would clean things out, add a filter and coffee, fill up the water, and no problem.
Until there was a problem. I forgot to fill the water reservoir several times, and one night I even forgot to dump the old coffee (yuck).
System time. I figured out the best order for me to "process" the steps:
- Clean and fill the water reservoir
- Clean the filter basket
- Measure coffee in a filter (by weight) and replace basket
- Clean out the carafe and replace
Fast forward six months and no issues. No missed steps, no old coffee.
But Wait, There's More
For other systems I've put together, I've included "markers" to remind myself that the steps were completed. I used to lock up the house we were in at night: check the doors, lock up, turn off the lights.
Since one of the doors was from a mudroom, I couldn't see without opening a door. Instead of re-checking, I made sure to note that the light switch was turned off. That meant I could just peek at the switch and know I'd done everything else.
I know these aren't very exciting systems, which is also a reason to have a system for less exciting things. I'm also applying them to areas like my PKM - for example, I have a Style Guide for my personal setup so I not only know what I'm trying to do, but also why the systems are how they are.
Chase that dopamine and follow the system. It doesn't need to make sense to anyone else if it works for you.