Systems, Not Goals—My 2023 New Year’s Resolutions

I have never been as excited about my New Year’s Resolutions as I am this year. Why? Because I recently read James Clear’s Atomic Habits, and it’s completely changing my approach to my resolutions. In his book, Clear provides tons of tips and tricks for adopting good habits and breaking bad ones. But the sentiment that stuck with me the most was his point that systems matter more than goals.

Why Are Systems More Important Than Goals?

Why? Because your systems (or your habits) are how you actually achieve your goals. As Clear writes here: “Are goals completely useless? Of course not. Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress. A handful of problems arise when you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time designing your systems.”

Additionally, I wholeheartedly believe in progress over perfection. There is so much value in making small improvements and consistent progress in a positive direction. Often, when we set a specific goal as a New Year’s Resolution, it’s easy to view success as black and white—you either meet your goal, or you don’t, and if you don’t then you’ve failed. But that’s not true!

A Failed Goal, A Successful System

In 2022, I set a goal to read 80 books within the calendar year. With about 2 days left in the year, I am on pace to finish 79 books. If I were stuck on the specific number of that goal, then I would be pretty devastated. But that wasn’t the intention. The intention of goal was (1) to learn more through non-fiction reading, and (2) to enjoy fiction through books more than television. Was that accomplished? Absolutely. I read more books this past year than I ever have in my life to date. I didn’t meet my goal, but I still think that I should view the progress as a success.

And that’s where Clear’s quote comes into play:

Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.

James Clear

The system is HOW something gets done—not just a single habit, but a collection of processes that work together in the direction of the goal. So for my New Year’s Resolutions this year, I am “setting systems” instead of setting goals. Here is what that looks like…

My 2023 New Year’s Resolutions as Systems

Spiritual Health

Goal: Have more consistent time in prayer and studying the Word.

System: Time block my day and schedule it in. I’m going to do it on my lunch break, because I’m not good at waking up before my kids in the morning, so I think I will have more consistency at lunch time.

Goal: Use the Sabbath to rest.

System: Restructure my weekly tasks (laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, meal prep, etc.) around Sundays. Get them done on other days so that I can use Sunday to focus on time with family and doing what we love.

Relational Health

Goal: Be more present with my family.

System: Put my phone away in another room as we sit down for dinner, and don’t get it out again until after the kids’ bedtime.

Goal: Spend more time with my husband and friends.

System: Schedule a regular date night every week, alternating weeks between time with just my husband and double dates with friends.

Physical Health

Goal: Sleep more. Get to bed by 11pm.

System: This one is the most difficult for me… I have horrible bedtime discipline! What I’m going to try to do is starting brushing my teeth before 10pm. One tip from Atomic Habits was to start small by committing to a habit that is only 2 minutes. I am hoping that by brushing my teeth earlier in the night, I can signal my body that it’s time to wind down and get ready for bed, and remove a barrier to laying down (because laying down in bed is the fun part! It’s the getting ready for bed that trips me up…).

Goal: Eat in a way that nourishes my body.

System: Intermittent fasting from 8PM each night to 12PM the next day. I’ve been intermittent fasting for a couple months now, and I’m loving it. It’s an easy system to follow, and I have felt better in my body. Trying to eat nutritious food often gives me decision fatigue, but fasting is easy because it makes it black and white–my eating window is either open or not, and then I don’t have to think about it. And because I let my body get fully hungry again, I’ve found myself craving more well-rounded meals. I’m no nutrition expert, and different people need different things in this area, but as far as systems go, intermittent fasting is an easy one.

Mental Health

Goal: Let my house be messier. (I know, that’s a weird goal… But as a perfectionist I struggle to live in the chaos, and then I spend TOO much time tidying and cleaning, when something less would be good enough.)

System: Time block my household tasks. Cut myself off: set a timer, tidy and clean for that set time, and then stop when the time is up. This will also help me prioritize the biggest-impact tasks because I will feel more acutely the fact that my time is limited. Also, ask for help–from my husband, from my kids, from babysitters. A little teamwork can go a long way.

Goal: Read 60 books.

System: Listen to audiobooks while walking, commuting, and doing household chores. I love Libby for library books and Audible for purchases! Also, read before I go to bed, because it helps me feel sleepy. I have a feeling this goal could pair very well with my sleep goal above…

Start with Small Systems

As always, when it comes to any goals, systems, or New Year’s Resolutions, it’s critically important to start small. Most of these are minor tweaks to things that I’m already doing. In some areas I am actually decreasing my goals (ex. read 60 books in 2023, after 80 in 2022), because I want to increase my capacity in other areas (ex. sleep more), and I am a limited resource. 🙂

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What systems are you putting in place to reach your goals this year? And how can you make it smaller?