Earlier today, I was in my Reformer Pilates class.

(Pilates does wonders for your core strength for your stability.)

My instructor is Laura-from-Oregon-who-moved-to-Amsterdam and I love her because she’s great at hyping our sweaty bunch up.

Some fitness instructors are the YOU’RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH YOU WEAK LITTLE **** type—

But Laura isn’t like that.

She’s the opposite. She cheers you on and celebrates your success. She compliments you for showing up.

While I was shaking and trying to hold a particularly challenging plank variation today, she said:

Needless to say, I felt like a badass. Thanks Laura!

And she’s right. I keep seeing the same people in my Pilates class now. I go at the same time every week and most other people who attend this class obviously do, too.

Now, I’m definitely not always 100% consistent with the effort I put into my health and my fitness. Sometimes I go on a trip and—whoops—I hardly work out at all for three weeks.

But Pilates has happened every week consistently for a while now and it’s because I’ve got a little system set up.

I go at the same time every Sunday: two hours after breakfast, so my stomach isn’t too full, but I’m not hungry either.

Before I go, I start a load of laundry. I head to the studio and enjoy my class.

After class, I get a coffee to go and I slowly bike through one of my favorite parks. Then I pick up groceries on my way home.

At home, I hang up the laundry or put it in the dryer, I have lunch, and I get to work.

It’s a routine. But it’s more than that. It’s a system. I’m not just attending a fitness class, but I’m also enjoying a ritual and I’m taking care of household tasks.

I also move—and, let’s be honest, totally exhaust—my body, so that by the time I get home, I feel like sitting my butt down (which is required for my work).

This is just one small example of a system that I’ve built to support my productivity. There are many more, including my app-based system.

All of these systems work together to help me consistently make progress on and achieve my goals.

Of course my life isn’t perfect. I don’t hit every single one of my goals every quarter or every year. But I hit enough of them.

A big reason for that is that I set up systems to get to where I want to go. I don’t just rely on willpower. With my systems, I avoid decision fatigue.

You can do this, too.

Go beyond setting “New Year’s resolutions”. Clarify your goals and identify the action steps required to hit those goals.

Then—this is key—build systems to support you in taking action. Day after day and week after week, without having to reinvent the wheel every time.

If you haven’t been hitting your goals for a while now, what have you got to lose?

Also, if you haven’t already, try Pilates sometime. And yes, that goes for you dudes out there, too.