BE MORE PRODUCTIVE (AND LESS STRESSED)

I’m sure you know someone who consistently finishes tasks or projects much faster than everyone else—and they don’t even break a sweat! They’re more productive, have more free time, experience less stress, and are highly sought-after employees.

Sometimes it seems like their ease, speed, and results defy the limits of reality. But their productivity has nothing to do with magic: they build systems.

Engineers work with systems every day, and the rest of us—psychologists, lawyers, marketers, and especially leaders—should learn from them.

A system is a set of steps in a determined order that you follow to achieve a desired outcome.

Think about the instructions for an Ikea item. If you follow the steps, you’ll end up with the wardrobe you want.

Systems come in many forms: They can be visual, like Ikea furniture or Legos; written, like the instructions to fill out a form; or a mix of text and visuals, like the user guide for a kitchen appliance. More complex systems include apps and other software.

The most interesting systems, psychologically, are mental systems. These are the ones highly productive people use to get things done quickly and accurately.

In this case, the steps are stored in their procedural memory. This type of memory is fast to access and operates almost at a subconscious level. You use it many times a day, like when you get into a car and follow the steps to start driving: grab the keys, open the door, sit down, close the door, fasten your seatbelt, adjust mirrors, insert the key, start the car, turn on the lights, check your surroundings, and go. Some driving instructor might criticize this list, but you get the idea. You follow these steps automatically because they’re stored in your procedural memory.

Highly productive people try to embed systems into their procedural memory for every task they do. The first time they do something, they carefully study and memorize the necessary steps, optimizing them as they go. That’s why they can be so annoying with questions when learning something new. In fact, the first time they do a task, they’re slower than the rest of us. But the next time, they’ve become machines—because they don’t have to think. They just execute.

The good news is, you can learn how to create mental systems more effectively and start being more productive right now. Follow these steps:

1. Choose an activity you want to be more productive at.

2. Do it once, slowly.

3. While doing it, write down the steps you need to follow to complete the task. Be very precise and detailed.

4. Do it again, very slowly.

5. As you do it, look for ways to improve each step so you can save time and be more precise.

6. Update the steps with the new, optimized procedures.

7. Then, practice the task multiple times, following the revised procedure.

You should periodically review and question your systems to optimize them. Optimization means incorporating steps to save time or improve accuracy, but most importantly, eliminating unnecessary steps.

This is how you create a mental process and, ultimately, turn it into a habit. Think of all the things you could do faster and more efficiently: bookkeeping, household chores, projects, meetings, sales…

Try creating one system this week, and let me know how it goes!

Carmen López. Business Psychology