Everyday Systems: Systematic Moderation for sustainable good habits

Time 2020-12-20 12:03:44

Web Name: Everyday Systems: Systematic Moderation for sustainable good habits

WebSite: http://everydaysystems.com

ID:140329

Keywords:

Systematic,Moderation,Everyday,

Description:

An everyday system, TM, is a simple, commonsense solution to aneveryday problem, grounded by a pun or metaphor.Don't see your problem here? Check out the Everyday Systems Lab to see what's in progress or request a new system on the bulletin board.What is the relationship between the systems?The systems are independent but compatible. I do all of them. Butyou don't have to. Pick and choose just the ones you like.Are there any guiding principles shared by all the systems?Yes. Here they are:Systematic Moderation. Everybody from Aristotle to yourGrandma agrees that moderation is a good idea. It's the wisdom of thephilosophers and the virtue of the common folk. At least, it used tobe. These days it's no longer held in such high esteem -- and evenmore rarely practiced. Instead, people look for ways to get aroundhaving to moderate their desires and inclinations: with pills, miracleproducts, even surgery. Or they simply ignore their desires altogetherand embark on impossibly ambitious and restrictive programs ofself-discipline. But if there's a way around moderation, we clearlyhaven't found it yet; as the relentless rise in obesity rates andother depressing metrics make plain, our modern workarounds simplydon't work.In fairness to ourselves, it's not as easy as it was for ourancestors. They had little choice but to be moderate. Sheer scarcitykept them in line. If they didn't behave moderately they woulddie. Powerful traditions formed an additional line of defense. We, onthe other hand, live in an age of material superabundance anddeclining traditions. We are the first generation that canafford to be immoderate (at least, in the short term).So how, in the absence of the external pressures of scarcity andtradition, can we give moderation the teeth it needs to be effective?With systematic, "extremist"techniques.Thinking in terms of Habit. Like moderation, the concept ofhabit isn't as popular as it used to be. For Aristotle, virtue itselfwas a habit. We moderns tend to prefer to think in black and whiteterms of irresistible addiction on the one had, and total freedom onthe other. But that's neither accurate as a description nor useful asa prescription. Habit, with its varying directions and degrees is afar truer and more powerful concept.Compliance with rules requires willpower, and willpower is a verylimited commodity. A good system of moderation will utilize thisresource efficiently by focusing on building habits:semi-automatic behaviors that require little willpower to maintainonce they've been established.Sustainable Minimum of Compliance. Habit isn't about one-offacts of heroism. It's about establishing a consistent, almostautomatic pattern of behavior over time. Much of the challenge ofsuccessful self-discipline is throttling your enthusiasm so you don'tburn out. Keep the focus on meeting some clearly-defined, rigorouslyun-ambitious daily "good enough." "Sustainability" is the buzzword of the moment when applied tomacro issues of agriculture or energy. But it's just as important withrespect to your purely personal habits of eating, moving, spending,and getting things done. Overdoing it is a far bigger danger thanunder-doing it -- because it inevitably results in your not doinganything at all. Sustainability has to be the first thing you considerwhen evaluating a habit you want to acquire - not the afterthought itusually is.Maintenance is more important than progress. Progress isintrinsically temporary; maintenance is what you'll be doing for therest of your life. Habit Branding. A good system should be "branded" with astriking image, pun, or metaphor. That way you'll be much less likelyto forget or ignore it, even when things get stressful. A brand getsyou irrationally fired up about what you're doing. Some EverydaySystems are little more than a striking brand. Others havesignificantly more rules or back-story, but even these systems arewell served by a brand: the brand gives you a handle, all you have todo is have the brand flash into your mind and you can easily retrieveall the rest. If your system were just a bunch of prosaic rules,however sensible, you'd have to continuously keep the whole thing inconscious "RAM." No keeping track of things. The system shouldn't require youto keep track of anything beyond the day of the week, what planet youare on, etc. You have too many things to keep track ofalready. Sometimes it's interesting to keep track of things for a weekor two. But it gets unbearably boring and onerous fast. If you feelyou must keep track of something, use my freeonline Habit Calendar to keep track of your daily compliance withthe system's rules. Small temporal footprint. Ideally, the system should free uptime, not take more of it. If your exercise routine, for example,competes in any significant way with your social life or even withyour favorite television show, sooner or later your exercise routineis going to lose. Socially Unobtrusive. Unless you're planning to become ahermit in the desert, you need to consider whether your habits aregoing to be unbearably irritating to the people around you. It's notsimply a matter of common courtesy: the consciousness of others'disapproval will quickly wear you down. Free or cheap. If you need anything at all, it should benothing you can't pick up at your local hardware store. Wasting moneyon some infomercial clutter is bad, but the worst part is thatinevitable feeling of being a sucker. Make "free or cheap" a point ofpride, and you'll never feel this way again. Simple but specific. Common sense is great, but too vague tobe a practical guide. Behaviors that involve complex decision making,on the other hand, might be precise, but can never be automated intounconscious habit. A good system finds the happy medium: unforgettablysimple but unambiguously precise. Comic pragmatism. Self-help tends to take itself dreadfullyseriously, I guess in the hope that other people will. But crazy is agreat mnemonic device. If something is a little nuts, you'll rememberit. I call this the principle of comic pragmatism. It's a joke, butit's also serious. It's effective because it's a joke. Enjoyable. Successful self-discipline requires plenty ofcarrot as well as stick. Too many systems of self-improvement programstreat pleasure as a necessary evil, to be reluctantly doled out inpitiful little doses. Everyday systems make pleasure integral. I encourage you to use these principles to come up with your ownsystems. It's fun, and there's nothing like founder's zeal to get youmotivated. Let usknow if you do.How can I connect with other everyday systems practioners?Visit the bulletin board.There is also an archive of older postsfrom the previous bulletin board system.So what's next?I've got several more systems in the oven, but it may be anotherage and a half before I'm sufficiently satisfied with them to givethem their own web sites. Until then, you can examine their progressor lack thereof at the everyday systems lab.Yes! If you like any or all of these sites, help me pay forthem. Buyanything from amazon.com through this link, I get a tiny cut, andyou don't pay anything extra.In particular, feel free to buy (multiple copies of!) my NoS Diet book. Even if no-s isn't the system you're most interestedin, two of the seven chapters at least are directly relevant for anyeveryday system (general advice on habit building, etc.) -- and if Isell enough copies, your preferred system may be the subject of thenext book.

TAGS:Systematic Moderation Everyday 

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