There is a big difference between solving a problem and eliminating a problem. I’d like to share with you a powerful strategy that will help you eliminate your problems for good.
Let me explain using a real world example.
Last week I visited my parents and found that my mum was looking for a phone bill that she needed to pay. She was frustrated because she couldn’t find the bill anywhere. My dad and I joined in and soon we were all busy looking in drawers, cupboards, and old telephone books. Eventually, Mum found the bill in her handbag! – Problem solved right?
Well sort of…
It was true that the immediate problem had been solved, but I knew from experience that this was likely to happen again so I tried to think of a way to eliminate the problem for good.
In the case of lost bills, the system I set up for my parents was simple but effective. It consisted of a red folder, a green folder and a hole punch.
System To Eliminate The Problem Of Searching For Lost Bills
(1) When a new bill arrives in the post, it immediately gets placed in the red ‘Unpaid Bills’ folder.
(2) When a bill gets paid it gets transferred to the green ‘Paid Bills’ folder
(3) At the end of the month, all the bills in the green folder get archived to a cupboard.
Now, I know this is a very simple example but it illustrates an extremely powerful concept.
Whenever you encounter a problem, instead of focusing on just solving the problem try and put in place a system that will eliminate the problem in the future.
Every time you put in place a new system to eliminate a problem you make yourself more efficient and more productive.
Now you may be thinking, "I don’t really like having systems", but the reality is we all have systems in place whether we recognise them as systems or not.
For example, my old ‘car key system’ was:
(1) Come home
(2) Drop car keys in a random spot
(3) Waste five or ten minutes looking for keys before leaving home in the morning
We have systems for every aspect of our lives. The key to improving your efficiency is to replace systems that don’t work with systems that do work (for example, having a regular spot to put my car keys when I get home!)
Action Steps
Identify areas in your life that are inefficient. A good way to do this is to take note of any situation in which you feel frustrated. Instead of just solving your problems, take action to eliminate them forever by improving your systems.
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