There is a really good book I read recently, called The Power of Systems by Steve Chandler and Trevor Timbeck.



I’ve read a number of other books on systems, usually business systems, but this one was about more about the nature of systems, how the results we get in various areas of our lives are the product of our systems. And even if we don’t think we have a system, that chaos is still a system.

What does this mean for a creative person?

It means that you can look at the results you’re getting, analyze your current system, and then recreate it into a system that works.

It might sound like building habits and there is a bit of similarity, but habits imply a conditioned action, one that happens automatically. Something BF Skinner would have loved.

A system is different. You design and execute a system. You tweak and tune a system, and you can put measurements in place to evaluate the system, if you like. And you can just replace a system altogether, no ‘habit breaking’ required.

So let’s look at an example. Suppose you’re an aspiring songwriter, but you’re not writing many songs. You’d like to be writing on a regular basis, creating lots of new tunes and lyrics, and sending them out into the world.

The first step is to look at your system for not writing much. Maybe it’s something like this:

Wait around to be inspired. Then, when you get an idea, if you happen to be near an instrument, play with it a bit. Are you near a recording device? Is it on? Maybe record a bit of your playing. Then, at some indeterminate future time, work on it some more, maybe even finish it, though the more likely outcome is that it goes to die in some folder on your computer.

Now, you can see that the odds of everything being in place to capture your inspiration are pretty slim. You probably write some things here and there, but there is much room for improvement

A better system might look like this:

  1. Create a time to be in my studio every day for an hour, with the recording equipment turned on and armed, or even just rolling
  2. Carry a notebook to capture lyric ideas when they hit me, regardless of where I am, and use it
  3. Use my phone’s voice recorder to capture melodic ideas
  4. Make reviewing these ideas part of my daily studio time
  5. Find a songwriting buddy to send my songs to, at least one a week

This system could be expanded on and adjusted in many ways (more time, more songs, writing with a collaborator, etc) but I think you can see that it would immediately be more effective than the existing system.

The book is basically saying that this way of thinking can revolutionize any area of your life that you want to give attention to. Just break down your current system in a way that makes it plain why it isn’t working, and create a new one that will likely be better. Then, make adjustments as results come in.

I do this kind of thing with clients often, and it is always useful to see how their current, unconsciously created system is working (or not), and to consciously create a better one. It’s an easy to implement approach that will create significant improvements in your work and life.