Systems and Productive Habits!

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear

We’ve all been there.

You sit at your desk, ready to create content or work on your business, and you’re just… not feeling it.

So, you wait.

You wait for that elusive spark of motivation to show up and carry you through the work.

But here’s the hard truth: motivation is unreliable. It comes and goes. It’s like trying to run your life on solar power in a city where it rains most of the year.

If you’re serious about building productive habits, you can’t rely on bursts of motivation. You need systems and routines that keep you moving forward, even on the days you don’t feel like it.

Why Motivation Isn’t Enough

When I was working full-time in a demanding corporate leadership role and trying to build my affiliate marketing business on the side, I often felt overwhelmed.

I’d come home from twelve-hour days of back-to-back meetings and tell myself, “I’ll work on my business when I feel motivated.”

Guess how often that happened?

Not often.

There were nights when I was exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was record a podcast episode or write an email sequence.

If I had relied solely on motivation, my side hustle would never have grown into the business it is today.

What saved me was creating small, simple systems that made it easier to take action, no matter how I felt.

Systems and Routines Create Consistency

A system is simply a repeatable process.

It’s a set of steps you follow automatically, so you don’t waste energy deciding what to do next.

When I was building my affiliate business, I set up a routine where I worked on one key task for just 30 minutes every evening.

Sometimes that meant researching new content ideas.

Other nights, it was writing a blog post or recording a short podcast segment.

The point was that I didn’t leave it up to motivation.

It was on my calendar, and I followed the routine whether I felt like it or, not.

Those small, consistent actions compounded over time.

I started to see results.

And that positive feedback loop made it even easier to keep going.

The Corporate Lesson That Changed Everything

In my corporate leadership career, I noticed the teams that performed best didn’t rely on bursts of inspiration.

They had systems in place.

When a major project landed on their desks, they knew exactly how to break it down into manageable steps.

They didn’t waste time waiting for the “right” mood to strike.

That was a lightbulb moment for me.

If entire teams could run on systems, why couldn’t I do the same in my own life?

Start Small, Really Small

One mistake I see creators make is overcomplicating their systems.

They try to build a massive routine from scratch, and when they inevitably fail to stick to it, they give up.

You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight.

Start with one small system.

Maybe it’s dedicating 20 minutes every morning to writing.

Or maybe it’s scheduling your content creation days a week in advance.

Keep it simple.

As James Clear explains in Atomic Habits, “Success is the product of daily habits, not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”

One of my “Escape Plan” customers happened to write to me the other day.

His question was around the 90 minute growth model that I teach about. And it is genuine and a common one that a lot of people have.

Can you really grow if you spend only 90 minutes everyday?

Yes. Absolutely!

The idea behind the system is not about the amount of time you are spending. It is about the cadence that you are building. The discipline around a routine that helps you spend time on things that matter.

That is exactly what is required to build a business around content.

Routines Remove the Guesswork

The beauty of routines is that they eliminate decision fatigue.

When you know exactly what you’re supposed to do and when you’re supposed to do it, you spend less time negotiating with yourself.

In my case, I knew that as soon as I got home from work, I’d spend 30 minutes working on my business before I did anything else.

No debates.

No bargaining.

That routine helped me maintain consistency long enough to start seeing traction.

What This Means for You

If you’re struggling to stay consistent, stop waiting for motivation.

Instead, ask yourself:

• What’s one small system I can put in place today?
• How can I make it so easy that I can’t fail?

The answer might be as simple as writing for 15 minutes first thing in the morning or scheduling your social posts a week ahead.

Once you have that first system in place, add another.

Then another.

And watch how those productive habits start to transform your results.

As Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit, “Change might not be fast, and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”

Final Thoughts

Motivation is fleeting.

Systems and routines are what drive consistency.

And consistency is what builds successful businesses.

So, the next time you catch yourself waiting for motivation to show up, stop.

Instead, take one small step today to build a system that will move you forward, even on the tough days.

You’ll thank yourself later.

Book Recommendations:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Deep Work by Cal Newport

Recommended Newsletters

Here are few newsletters that I would recommend that you sign up to if you are interested in learning the art of running a side-hustle:

• Write, Build, Scale
• Why we buy
• The Book Bub
• The Stacked Marketer
• The Growth Bulletin
• Unconventional Productivity for Online Business Owners
• Side Hustle Weekly
• The Affiliate Guy
• I will teach you to be rich
• How Brands win
• For the Interested
• Send and Grow

Sign up to these and follow them. You will get a lot of information and content for your blog posts, podcasts and even social media posts.

I will share more such ideas in my future newsletters.

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I have pages and pages of information in my Notion Second Brain, so that I can find them and use them when ever I need.

I have added some of the newest books that I have been reading, to the Amazon store, so you might want to check it out.

Want to know more about the books I read. You can check it out here!

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