Margaret Jean

Perhaps you think that life on the Autism Spectrum has enough bumps without deliberately going about creating more. You’ve set a goal for yourself. What more do you need?

“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.” – James Clear, Atomic Habits

How do systems enter into achieving goals? Let me tell you how they helped with my goal of regularly going to the gym.

I really wanted to make exercise a part of my daily routine, because as we age, fitness is freedom. So much depends on one’s mobility.

Yet I found that forming a new habit was just not that easy.

I am a morning person, but because I work, I had to get up really early if I wanted to get in an hour of exercising. And because I get up so early, by 5 pm I’m pretty much done for the day, so exercising after work was not going to happen.

In spite of my determination it soon became clear that I wasn’t doing so great.  Any excuse was enough to keep me from getting up out of my nice warm bed. Rain or even a bright sunny day was excuse enough to tell myself I’d just take a day off and make up for it later. 

And then there was putting together an outfit for gym. The right shoes, gym pants, and I am not a T-shirt girl, so what to wear that would be appropriate?

Getting ready felt tedious and prolonged.

I needed help if I was going to make the gym a regular part of my daily routine.

Then, I began listening to the audible version of James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

James Clear has a very interesting theory about success—and as a NY Times best selling author who has over a million followers, he clearly knows his subject.

Clear says it is not our goals that bring us success, but our systems.

Time and again in his book, Atomic Habits,  James Clear illustrates how developing systems can either lead you to or keep you from achieving your objectives.

And that was clearly my problem.  I didn’t have a system. 

So I set one up.  I organized all my gym clothes in a place where I could easily access them in the morning.

I developed a routine for getting spruced up. I made sure to keep everything I’d need in the same cupboard, so that I could just reach for items like my toothbrush and toothpaste, minimal make up, eye glasses cleaner, etc. in the morning when I was still waking up.

To give me an incentive (other than becoming fit), I decided to stop at the local Tim Horton’s to get myself a small coffee on the way to the gym.  No fancy, rich coffees, with added syrups and whipped cream, which could easily nullify the effect of the gym—just a small coffee to help me wake up on the drive.

Now, some years later, the gym is a regular feature of my life. Building the systems helped tremendously, and they are still in place today.

James Clear says that although people think building good habits is time-consuming and takes away from life, it actually does the opposite.  Good systems free up time.

Motivational speaker, Brene Brown tells us that having a daily routine reduces anxiety, which is a huge plus for spectrum riders. And structure adds purpose to your day. 

Having a regular routine for everyday chores, like paying the bills, preparing meals, and cleaning, gets things done in less time and with less anxiety.

Having a routine means you’re not spending a lot of time deciding how and when to take care of these small, everyday tasks. And routine can bring you success in the goals that are even more important to you.

So, if you have an area of your life you want to change, or a goal you’d like to achieve, think about the systems you can put in place that will make it easier for you to succeed.

And if you need a little help, I recommend James Clear’s highly readable book: Atomic Habits, or visit atomichabits.com.