Systems > Goals

We’re in a strategic planning season where all the talk is around setting ambitious objectives and goals for 2021. But it seems like there is something illogical about setting an ambitious goal but not changing anything else about your daily routines to get there.

Some of the most successful people (by goal standards) are surprisingly unfocused on outcomes. Octavia Butler, the prolific Black science fiction writer, recognized that the key to writing was to “write every day no matter what.”* Another example of how small, daily investments on the margins compound into exponential results is the story of the British cycling team, who had been notorious losers for years. But under new coaching, they registered five Tour de France victories in six years by looking for 1% improvements everywhere.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, writes that “winners and losers have the same goals” and that “if you want better results, forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

One of Uncharted’ s weekly “systems” is the 4-day workweek, which has shifted how we think about prioritizing and de-prioritizing. What are the daily or weekly routines, practices, and systems you will bring into 2021?

*Check out the daily rituals and routines of successful women in these very cool infographics.