Forget “Perfect” – You Need a System.

Succeeding in your health and fitness goals depends on one thing: having the right systems in place.

It isn’t the exercise program you do. It isn’t the diet you follow. It isn’t the coach you hire.

It’s the systems that enable you to consistently execute on the things that help you reach your goal.

For example, let’s look at factors for a successful fat loss diet:

• Maintaining a calorie deficit for 6-12 weeks
• Drinking enough water
• Getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night
• Eating mostly whole, nutritious foods at a frequency that fits your schedule
• Strength training 2-4 times per week
• Lots of low-intensity movement each day (walking, chores, light stretching)
• Managing stress through practices like meditation, naps, or other relaxing activities

We could endlessly debate what the “best” approaches are.

“What should I do for my workouts? Should I have a morning and evening routine? Should I do high carb? Keto? Intermittent fasting?”

At the end of the day, none of these matter unless you develop a system to ensure you can actually do them.

An imperfect plan done consistently beats a perfect plan done inconsistently.

Effective systems will vary by individual, but I’ve found the most successful ones have three things in common:

1. A very low barrier to entry. It should be ridiculously easy to get started.
   
2. The potential to build momentum – mentally or physically – once you’ve gotten going.
   
3. Is easy to repeat every time you need it (daily, weekly, etc.).

Coming back to our fat loss example, let’s say you want to create a system to help you stick to your calorie deficit. There are a variety of ways to track your calories – pen and paper, spreadsheets, food databases, etc. – but the most popular is via apps like My Fitness Pal.

After downloading your app of choice, a first step to create an effective system is to schedule a daily push notification that reminds you to log your food for the day. Let’s look at what this accomplishes for us and why it fits within our definition of a good system:

1. Enabling the push notification takes a minute or two – at most. That’s basically zero barrier to entry.
   
2. Getting a reminder to log your food (and actually logging it) will help keep you mindful and motivated towards your fat loss efforts.
   
3. The notification is triggered automatically, so it’s easily repeated without needing your intervention.

This may seem insignificant, but the snowball effect it has on your daily nutrition habits can be huge. Being held accountable to your daily calories will guide your food choices, most likely towards lower-calorie, more nutritious options. It can help strengthen your resolve in situations where you may be tempted to eat more than you need.

Moving from the kitchen to the gym, a system we put in place to keep us consistent with our exercise is to move your gym bag to the front door as opposed to your bedroom or closet. That way, it’s easily-accessible as you head out for the day and prevents excuses like, “I couldn’t find it,” or “I forgot it at home.” It’s always there, packed, and ready to trigger a reminder in your brain to workout that day.

There are lots of opportunities to implement simple, effective systems into our lives. They help simplify, build momentum, keep us accountable, and reduce the feelings of overwhelm when attacking long-term goals.