Putting things on autopilot gets more DONE

Thursday, August 24, 2017 79 Comments

Systems Development puts things on Autopilot
and supercharges your Executive Functioning

© Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
From the Brain-based Coaching Series

My usual Friday post is posting a day early this week, to give you time to read it before Tinkertoy‘s post on National Dog Day – this Saturday, August 26, 2017

Don’t strain your brain!

Some things take a lot of “cognitive bandwidth” — which is a fancy way to say that your brain needs to work especially hard to do them.

Other things are so “automatic” we often say we can do them in our sleep.

The more things you can do without conscious thought, the more brain cells you make available for the areas where they are really needed.

Almost everything takes a lot of cognitive bandwidth at first introduction. Nothing is automatic when we’re beginners — every piece of the puzzle takes concentration.

There are multiple decisions to be made – or recalled – at every step along the path of learning anything. That’s HARD work for a brain. It’s an expensive process, in brain currency.

However, once a task becomes familiar it’s sometimes difficult to recall why we ever struggled with it to begin with. It’s become automatic – a habit – a system.

BUT systems development will never happen unless you follow its rules. And that’s where systems development coaching is pure gold.

Let’s start at the very beginning with a bit of review . . .

What IS systems development coaching?

Systems Development Coaching is a way of working that focuses on helping a client discover the underlying concepts that will help them develop systems targeted to what works best for them. I’m about to share some of the ways we go about it for those of you taking the Lone Ranger approach.

But FIRST, let’s define our terms

A system is a set or arrangement of things
so related as to form an organic whole.

Whenever you activate a system you are freed from having to burn up cognitive resources remembering each individual step — less likely to get distracted in the middle of a task, or stopped cold by the need to make one of those “expensive” pre-frontal cortex intensive decisions in the moment.

© Phillip Martin, artist/educator

Most people are a little fuzzy about systems, probably because the last systems development training most of us received was potty-training.

How many of you have to actively remember what-comes-next when you’re going to the bathroom? (Except for putting down the toilet seat of course!) I’m sure you rarely think about it at all.

Unless the toilet paper is missing or the toilet overflows, or the doorknob comes off in your hand, I’ll bet you barely recall the trip once you get back to what you were doing.

Have you ever looked “everywhere” for a pen or something until you finally find it in the bathroom – yet you didn’t remember going INTO the bathroom? (Hey, here’s that little notepad too!)

Exactly!

Systems vs Solutions

When we focus on solutions, we are generally focused on “fixing” – because we hope to come up with something that will solve a particular problem.

When we focus on systems, we develop templates that can be picked apart
to solve all sorts of problems —
some of which we are then able to avoid altogether from that point on.

While solutions tend to be more specific, templates are modular. We can port pieces of working systems to new situations to propagate new systems.

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Becoming your own systems expert

I’ve been at this for almost three decades now, developing systems for all kinds of clients with all kinds of minds. So don’t expect yourself to jump right in at my level, even though you know yourself better than I ever could.

Found HERE

It will take some time and focused attention, and not everything will work the first time you try it.

Keep getting back on the horse.

Begin by scanning your life to see where you already have some systems on autopilot that you can Sherlock for ideas (No shoulds below, just suggestions about where to look).

Once your first system is in place, following some of the suggestions below, and you are in the habit of using it, pick it apart to see where else it might work.

Do you always make your bed the moment you get out of it?
How about putting dirty clothes in the hamper and hanging up what can be worn again before you get into whatever you sleep in?
Do you put your dirty dishes directly into the dishwasher so you never have to dig out the sink? Do you run said dishwasher every night? When do you empty it?
How about brushing your teeth or washing your face in the morning and the evening?
Have you taught yourself to put your keys in a specific place every time?

List whatever it is that you always do “practically in your sleep” and Sherlock exactly how you put those things in place.

Check to see if they have anything in common. For example, the time of day, items that support the habit, somebody who reminds you – whatever.
Think back to whatever it was that made you realize you had to make it a habit to get it done.
What happens when you don’t do them — meaning what happens that causes you to drop them out?

Use the data as you develop systems for other habits you need to put into place.

Other things to think about and put in place

Sherlock your day to identify what is not functioning & what functions well. Set systems up accordingly: YOU-based systems, not what others believe work best!

Recognize and anticipate potential problem spots — and figure out how to defend against them! For example:

Three alarm clocks & a wake up call for important appointments
Mental dry-run through your routine whenever there’s a change
Structuring your workspace to minimize distractions

Determine your most reliable processing style and make sure you use it,
for example:

Do you find your way best with maps or directions?
Spoken or written?
When you are overwhelmed do you need to
reduce visual clutter or auditory noise?
When you know you will need to recall something,
does it help to say it aloud?

Question every oops (vs. beating yourself up about it)

When and where did things go sideways? (vs. “wrong”)
What could I have done instead of what I did?
WHEN did I need to do that?
“What systems can I set in place to protect myself?”

Always affirm that you CAN. Your job is to keep asking yourself questions until you have developed the habit of asking questions with the expectation that you will be able to figure it out.

Continue to set up new systems and tweak to fit

Remember to use multi-modal learning during the habit building phase
Keep making schedules: one appointment book with all agreements
Bite-size pieces: Lists broken down into steps
Set up your life to eliminate sources of struggle, for example:

a. A place for keys, purse, briefcase, shoes, etc. (near the door where you exit each day)
b. A “coming home” routine that never varies – and tell those who tend to distract you what it is. (“First I hang my coat, put keys on the hook, my purse or briefcase in its place, etc., then I can give you a hug and tell you about my day.”)
c. Set up a boggle room: a quiet room for time outs — yours!
d. Track time – use a watch or a timer that beeps quietly every 30 to 60 minutes to remind you that time is passing (are you on task?)
e. Keep an envelope in your purse or wallet for dry-cleaning slips, etc.

Use organization tools: containers for items and data

Educate & involve others — and set firm boundaries around the things you need in order to focus.

Communicate possible problems when you first “inkle”
This is really important for those of us with ADD/EFD!

“Your birthday on the [name the day] is really important to me so lets plan it now and then remind me the night before to make sure I don’t drop out what day it is. I lose track of now sometimes.”
“I seem to be really distractible today so please don’t take it personally if I seem not to be paying attention. Help me to re-focus on you if I lose it.”
“I know it seems silly to you to be spending money on closet organizers, but they really will make a huge difference in my functioning day-to-day. I’d be willing to cut back somewhere else to pay for them.”

More to come . . .

I will continue to expand on the Systems concept in the ongoing series on Systems Development. Much of the content in this article was taken from The Systems Module of the world’s first ADD-specific coach training, the A.C.T. Training I developed and debuted after establishing The Optimal Functioning Institute™ in the early 90’s.

KEEP YOUR EYE OUT for an announcement of a Systems Development TeleClass designed especially for the folks who will be using them. I’ll coach you through systematizing one of your areas of struggle in a group format.

Get in touch if you’d like more personalized attention now.
I’d LOVE to be your coach!

Shared on the Senior Salon

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IN ANY CASE, stay tuned.
There’s a lot to know, a lot here already, and a lot more to come – in this Series and in others.
Get it here while it’s still free for the taking.

Want to work directly with me? If you’d like some one-on-one (couples or group) coaching help with anything that came up while you were reading this Series, click HERE for Brain-based Coaching with mgh, with a contact form at its end, or click the E-me link on the menubar at the top of every page. Fill out the form, submit, and an email SOS is on its way to me; we’ll schedule a call to talk about what you need. I’ll get back to you ASAP (accent on the “P”ossible!)