Life's Operating System

The classic definition of a system is that it is a set of procedures or operations that are used to achieve a specific result.  We don’t think of our lives as having an operating system and in fact I would argue that most people do not see the value of understanding their inherent system.  What we often see instead is that we have desires or even goals but no systems. Goals are important, but a goal does not help us to understand how to achieve the desired result.  A system is required to move us forward incrementally to results we desire.  Understanding your system is an important hack.

I think that it would be beneficial to view life from the perspective of having an operating system.  For the sake of simplicity lets call this Life Operating System or LiOS.  As I thought about this I began to wonder if there would be versions of this operating system.  I have concluded that there should be.  As we mature it is likely that we would use different versions of an operating system.  As an example in the earliest stages of life version 1 would include the very basics of life learning such as learning to sleep, talk and walk.  In our early learning years we might be using OS 2.  Adolescence would bring on OS 3 while adulthood might be OS 4, etc.  Each version would include features that build upon the previous versions yet the upgrades would be essential to our continuum of growth and maturity.  

I am well over 50.  By my rough estimate I am now utilizing LiOS 7.  If you are wondering, I do not imagine that there would be ten versions.  In LiOS 7 there are a number of key features.  In this version those fortunate enough to have established a career and family are also likely very busy.  This version comes with features to manage that busyness.  Features include the ability to reduce distractions, connectedness, and awareness of the need for renewal,  Another feature is the ability to maintain relevance.

If we assume that we are all users of our respective operating systems then it becomes important to learn the features and benefits of that system.  Here is what I have learned about LiOS 7.  Experience, wisdom and hope are key features. Exercise and diet are also features.  Not every feature of this system is positive.  While there would be an inclination to call these negative features bugs, I have just come to recognize that like most operating systems we are likely to not want all the features that are built in.  One such reality is that the system does come to an end.  This is one constant in all versions.

What do you think are other features of this operating system?  How might this approach benefit our thinking?  Finally, what are you doing to master your system.

Are You a Basket Case?

Clutter is a great distraction.  There are a number of solutions to reducing clutter but the one that I see implemented most often is the placing of “baskets” in those places that tend to collect clutter.  I am fairly organized and as I write this in my office I notice that there are no less than fifteen such containers.  Not all of them are baskets.  I have a couple of wooden boxes, there are metal tins, and two large wooden boxes.  Each of these items were acquired with the intent of organizing my clutter.  I am guessing that each time I have introduced a new container the idea has worked.  The problem is that every time my office becomes cluttered I acquire a new basket of some sort.  This is how I arrived at more than fifteen.   I don’t know the contents of all the containers but several of them are full.

Baskets take up physical space.  Yet, they don’t exist just in our offices.  There are a number of other physical and virtual containers in our lives.  Your email inbox is one of those places.  The Task or To Do List serves as another container and then there are all the paper notes.  There are cloud containers such as Dropbox and Evernote.  These are all wonderful tools but they can be like just another basket.  Just yesterday I decided to clean up the clutter on my computer desktop.  I moved the files to a folder called “Desktop to vet” this sounded very organized when I created it yesterday.  I just checked and there are 102 files.  That is not organized.

I have way too many “baskets” in my life.  This is not a post about getting to inbox zero.  Rather, I am just concerned that we are holding too much stuff.  I am suggesting that we need to empty the containers and I can certainly say that in my case I need to reduce the number of baskets.  

The following is my plan.  First, I am committing to review the contents of at least one container every day.  The goal is to make decisions about where stuff belongs.  Each day I will place the contents in an appropriate long term location which will frequently include deleting, giving away, or throwing away items.  My goal is to reduce baskets and know their contents.  Here are some examples of potential baskets.  Empty the Trash on your computer;  Delete no less than 25 email messages every day;  Remove papers from your briefcase or purse;  Read the notes in your notebook and file them in an appropriate place:  Make decisions about files on your desktop and delete them.  Reduce your cloud storage.  Open an actual basket and get rid of stuff.  Do this every day.  Start today.

Will you join me in assessing just how many “baskets” you have in your life and empty a few?  Hit me back to share your thoughts.