In Atomic Habits, James Clears formalizes the importance of focusing on systems instead of goals. Systems are the plan that will be executed consistently to move you towards a goal.

Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference.

My systems should support me. Making it easier to achieve my goals and keep my focus on what matters. The main benefits of a good system are:

  1. I don’t have to rely on my memory, thus I have more mental energy
  2. Eliminate distractions
  3. Keep me accountable on my goals

None of this is to say that goals are useless. However, I’ve found that goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress.

Tools

I can integrate a habit system into obsidian using:

https://blacksmithgu.github.io/obsidian-dataview/
https://github.com/Richardsl/heatmap-calendar-obsidian

References

https://jamesclear.com/goals-systems