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Creating a System That Works for You in College
Frameworks to create Burnout-Free Habits, and not rely upon Motivation Every Time
Have you ever been committed, and broken up yourselves? 😛
I mean, ever committed to something, and never managed to keep up? Mostly you would’ve taken it up, because of Motivation!
Yes, motivation is the culprit. It’s like a promise you want to keep, but won’t keep.
One day, you’re all fired up, “Therikka vidurom“, “Thattrom Thookkurom“ and the next day, “enaya thookuradhukke oru aal venum, idhula naan enga thattradhu, enna thookradhu“. Haha, naanum appdi thaan, namma ellarum appdi thaan!! We’ve all been there.
Seri, adhukku enna panradhu nu thedi paatha, most content we read about self-improvement, productivity, edhum onnum implement panra maadhri irukkaadhu. Ellam ore motivation ah thaan irukkum. Idhula comedy enna na… those content creators who create such motivational content will do it at the cost of burning out, without a System around them.
This letter to you will not be one of those in which you forget what you started, and why you started.
Guess what? You don’t need motivation to win in life. You need systems that work for you, no matter how you feel.
Innaikku newsletter is all about building this System and making sure that you progress — mukkiyamaa — even on those laziest days.
Okayy, Let’s jump in! As always, let’s start with “Why?”.
Why Systems Always Win Over Motivation?
Motivation is like a spark; it’ll help you start something but fade out quickly.
Systems, on the other hand, are like a steady flame — they keep you moving even when you’re not feeling it.
You might think — “Appo, Motivation la waste nu solreengala?”
Athaan illa. You need to play smart here.
Let’s think of a Gas Stove! You need a spark to initiate the flame; and the flame continues to burn because of the proper setup, which enables the steady flow of gas from the cylinder! OK va?
Here, the spark is your Motivation, and the properly set up cylinder is your System. The steady flow is nothing but the result of your consistency, which you achieve through building a habit/routine.
So, the next time you’re motivated to do something, don’t start doing that thing. Instead, build a system around it, to enable you do it consistently without burning out.
Mind voice kekkudhu… “Analogy lam nalla thaan irukku, realtime la edhachum sollunga le…”
Avasaram! Enh!! Porumai ya, read carefully!
Before you build…
You need to understand, building a system is very simple, as far as you know what the system should consist of.
For this, let’s classify systems into two: Micro & Macro! I did it, and you should know it too. Doing it is up to you, haha. But, I highly recommend it.
Macro, is where I visualize every aspect of me & my life!
This brings down all your overwhelming moments, into moments of processable insights!
Chumma, orukka try panni paarunga!
From the mindmap above, see if you can build a mindmap for yourself. Once you do this, most of your stress and overwhelming feelings will be let go; you’ll be able to think clearly.
If you happen to create one, do share it with me. ok?
And then,
Micro, is where I write down the tiny repeatable tasks!
These are the ground real tasks, which I must do to keep up certain things happen without failure. From now, “Tasks“ na “Repeatable Tasks“, ok va?
If you’re starting out, then it does not make sense to have everything figured out. So, even if you do not have any tasks or mindmaps now, kavalai vendaam.
Namma Community ah sendhu pannuvom, but don’t wait for it, ok!
On a side note, if you know someone who has not completed their INEA Check, help them complete it; and appdiye unga INEA Badge ah LinkedIn la post pannirunga, hehe!
Seri, idhellam Tasks uh., System enga ya?
Irunga pa, first uh let’s understand Habits.
“Tasks kum Habits kum enna sammandham?“ nu keppeenga. Rightu! Naane solren.
“Seri na, appo oru vela, Habits thaan Systems oh?”
Cha cha, appdi la sollira mudiyaadhu pa…
Seri, ippdi solren — “your today’s habits will define your tomorrow“ nu solluvaanga, illaya? Aana, andha habits ah keep up panradhu evlo kashtam nu ungalukkum theriyum. So, unga System will ensure that these habits are handled effectively, without burning you out. Puriyudha? Phew
Habits are the building blocks of your System
Task > *repeated* > Routine > *subconsciously* > HabitHabit > *set up to handle effectively* > System
Romba length ah pogum… let’s keep it interesting.
Students! Take out a sheet of paper and pencil.
Let’s build your System 🚀
You know, this is long-term, but here’s my sorcery to you!
Here’s how simple your systems can be built:
🎯 5-minute routines
Yedhukku? — Chumma, to hack your brain and kickstart your day with success. Unmailaye, idhu thaan ellaaathukkum mudhal padi.
Keep this non-negotiable. This is as simple as - namma bedsheets ah fold panradhu, as soon as we are awake!
My first 15 min routine is to ‘not picking up your phone until I fully get ready‘. haha, simple illa la… but gives an immense strength to start my day. If I fail to do it for some reason, somehow my mind believes that the day will go rough.
This Belief is the Core of your System. Heard of Belief System? haha.
Connect the dots. In childhood, we do something becasue — “saami kanna kuthirum“
That belief system kept you away from telling lies, deceiving your best friend, cheating your parents, etc. la… and saami was our powerful accountability partner.
Ippo, as we all learnt, what a real “saami kanna kuthing“ moment is, and we need to build our accountability partner, by setting up a belief system.
Activating this belief system is a whole different level, which is for a different day.
🎯 Daily to-do lists
— to know exactly what’s completed, and what needs to get done. As you finish a task, you mark it complete. It’s my favourite daily routine.
But, what if I don’t complete a task today? — Don’t leave it unchecked. I’ll tell you what happens over time when you don’t mark something complete at the right time. Feed this in to your belief system now.
Your brain will just feel one of these (subjective) —
“okay, indha task avlo mukkiyam illa pola, free ya viduvom“ — if you’re least bothered about this task
or “aiyayo, namma mudikkalaye, enna panradhu? boomi suthaadhe, next day sooriyan udhikkaadhe“ — if you’re an overthinker 😂
or “mudinchu, avlothaan. let’s complete it today itself, no matter what“ — if you’re a perfectionist / first bench student 🫢
If you continue to leave them on due for long, your brain keeps ignoring the task. For example, if you are skipping the task that says “Go to Kitched, Drink Water 2 Cups“, subconsciously your brain will associate this with a number of ways and start building a belief system — that you do not like kitchen, and you don’t like water. Eventually, if you don’t take care — someday even if water is offered to you, you will skip it. Scary? If not, please read this para carefully, even 10 times, until you feel scared. Bayam thaan Belief systems ah build panra best weapon!
“Appo, enna thaan panradhu, when you cannot complete a task?” — Simple, here’s the thing - checking a list is not a tough thing. Haha, just tick it 😆
Cha cha, appdi la illa
Basically, you can do two things:
If you’re building your system for the first time — Create a New task with a different title, and Mark today’s as Complete. Jolly la.. Optionally, you can rename the completed task with prefix “NA“ or something less negative
If you already have a system, you gotta be more responsible — Reschedule the task for a reasonable Due date, and ensure you update the description with Why you couldn’t complete it today. It’s not bad; it helps you estimate your tasks and deadlines over time, in the future.
Pro Tip: Get ready with a to-do list the night before you go to bed. For me, this is when my next day starts.
🎯 Tracking your progress
— to know how you perform. Idhu namma sendhu kooda pannalaam, community la.
Tracking is not just retrospecting the completed things, but also gaining some insights out of your progress so far. I can write a separate guide for this if you need it. Let me know.
“Indha tasks ah mudikkuradhe periya vishyam, idhula indha tasks ah track vera pannanum ah”, nu thaane ninaikkureenga… haha. Theriyudhu. Don’t worry!!
Tracking has to be fun, and not overwhelming. So, don’t complicate it. Keep it as simple as possible. It could be lines on a board, checking on a sticky note, marking on your notebook, or using some apps or tools.
You can track both your Tasks and Habits.
Chinna chinna vishyangal thaan, let’s try…
=======================Note for Intermediates: =======================If you’re already doing this, here's something one level deeper:Unga tasks la you can mark - “must-do“ and “try-to-do“ nu.Daily Night, before you go to sleep — ensure your must-do tasks are complete!No pressure! Remember the 2 things I said above in "Daily to-do lists".You should read about Eisenhower Matrix or Urgent-Important matrix. The app TickTick helps you visualize your tasks under this format.
Pro Tip: If a task would mostly take less than 5 mins, and if that’s important, then make it a must-do, and complete it!
Innoru vishyam — based on what type of person you are things can differ.
Morning person? You should consider completing the hardest tasks early.
Night owl? Take it to the evenings.
Idhula edhum thappu illa.
Edhu thappu na — copying someone else’s routine.
All of us will have unique routines, because all of us have different life & goals.
Even in a closed community like ours, it’s for the same reason why we do not have 100% attendance in all our daily micro-club routines. That’s ok, as far as our people are progressing and hitting the milestones of the micro clubs.
Illena, kickout thaan 😛
Routines la common nu edhum illa pa, just customize it to match your own natural style and energy levels. No harm.
Beware, when you take a break, everything breaks…
Breaks are inevitable. And, we need to have backup systems based on these breaks.
Periya periya organisations ke, there’s always a Disaster & Recovery (DR) plan, and we also need it, because our body is also organisms, sorry.. organisation thaan.
Life happens, right? Family emergencies, semester exams, long breaks, and breakups can cause total damage to your routines. It has caused for me as well.
Instead of relying on motivation to rebuild, try these (remember? motivation is merely a spark, and is of no use without a system):
Take my blue print, and build your DR plan:
Namma ellarum oru status la vachiruppom - “don’t expect anything from anyone” nu. Aana, don’t expect too much from you first.
Your DR system has to be very basic. As such, it can even be your core survival routines like brushing teeth, bathing, etc. From there, you can start tagging / anchoring the bigger routines.
Consider one step at a time! Pick 1 or 2 habits, like scheduling your day or reviewing the day for 15 minutes. Oru vaaram pannunga first uh, like a transition phase
A Transition Period will help you ease into your regular routine. It can be like a lite version of your System, that can help you regain without stress.
Anchoring your habits will help you regain your momentum. For example, instead of writing 15 mins daily, you can write 15 mins after brushing your teeth. Will you ever skip brushing teeth? 😜 I can write more on this. Let me know.
Pro Tip: Reserve a Spot before you Park
— before you introduce something new to your flow, ensure you have the space. When you want to park a bike/car, you first need to see if there’s a space for it, la? If there’s no space, there’s no point in trying to fit in. You’ll simply damage your vandi.
Read how I added the most tiring routine of going to gym, into my schedule. I wrote it in mid 2022.
“Yeppapapa… oru System build panradhukke tongue uh pushing, idhula oru DR System vera ya?”
Aama, let me tell you what happens when you do not have a DR system for you. Perusa la onnu aagadhu.
Ennnahhh, after all.. konjam stress ah feel aagum, appram yen da idhellam panrom nu thonum, appram oru maasam depressing ah irukkum! Adhunaalenna…? Oru maasam hectic ah feel panna… (neengale dialogue ah complete pannikonga from the video) 🫠
Disclaimer: Build Systems, Not Excuses! Motivation will come and go, but systems will last forever! Solradhu solliten, appram unga ishtam.
I hope you gained some new perspectives on why to build a system, how exactly to build it from scratch, and what happens if you do not have a DR system. I also hope it was interesting so you won’t get bored while reading.
Ippo neenga le sollunga…
What’s that one thing you’ll do today, to build your System? — I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Nandri, Cheers,Ungal Sorcerer, gsthina