Entries, System Sally

Rationale:

Update

System:

Entries will have both @next and @previous links if necessary.

Advantages:

Full navigation forward and back in a system’s evolution.

Status:

@current

Entries, System Sally

Rationale:

Update

System:

Do not use the @wip tag for new system sally entries.

Advantages:

• It will be clearer to myself and readers that all systems are simultaneously set in stone and works in progress

Status:

@next

@previous

Entries, System Sally

Rationale:

As I’ve been organizing System Sally, I’ve realized it is about time to have a more standard way of composing System Sally entries

System:

Have a single-word title (descriptive adjectives can follow this one word by a comma to make it clearer to the reader what kind of entries I am referring to, for example). Start off with a rationale, then explain the system, then list the advantages of this system to make it clear to the reader why I think my system is worth practicing. This list of advantages also helps open up dialogue, because it is easier to disagree with a list of advantages than the unexplaining system itself. This list will be a bulleted list, and will not be listed in order of importance. Then offer the reader a status message on the system, which can be @new, @wip (which is similar to @new by shows that I have not finalized it for myself, in that moment at least), @current, which means it is the most current iteration and has a link to the previous version, @previous, which means it is not the current version but has a link to the previous version, and @next, which means that it has been updated. @new tags will not have a link, but @current and @previous both link to the previous iteration, and @next links to the more recent iteration, in some cases the most current.

Advantages:

• I will enjoy posting more, because it will be more systematic
• Readers will get more out of the posts because they will be clearer

Status:

@next

@previous

Organizing System Sally

I’m switching from tags to categories. I think categories is a much better system.

Also, I’m going to be more clear when updating. I will always have a link to the previous version of a system, written at the bottom like this:

@previous

If I can, in this previous post, I will edit it and have something at the bottom saying:

@update

Writing your systems down, i.e. Journaling

“The Garage Clicker Fail,” as I will now be calling it, is the perfect demonstration of why keeping a systems blog (or a journal of your thoughts) is so useful. Obviously, leaving the clicker in the car is a more perfect system than carrying it on your person. Jacob was kind enough to comment on the post, but I had already made the shift. In fact, it was right after my post that I realized that keeping the clicker in the car was the obvious choice.

In writing it down I realized that I was basing my clicker-in-the-pocket choice on something someone else had said. It was my laziness that kept me stuck in that view, and it was the investigation and awareness of the system that showed me precisely where my delusion was. While the garage clicker is a minor thing, the process I went through is exactly what anyone goes through with anything, including partying and taking care. Bringing awareness to it reveals what parts of a system are good and true and insightful, and what parts are based on fear, preferences, laziness, or idiosyncracy. My friends, this is the primary reason I like writing about systems…you can actually learn a thing or two about yourself.

But, in the case of the garage clicker, the choice was clear once I thought about it. Many things in life aren’t that clear and simple, however. For example, in wanting to have a fun time, how can I know if hanging out in a rotted factory with indoor fireworks and broken glass dance floors is a good choice or not? I agree, this may not be so clear. Most people would agree that it’s not a good choice, but maybe most people are wrong, or maybe carrying the clicker on your person is better in some situations.

The system is this: whatever you do, whether you think of yourself as a systematic person or not, write down or share the decisions you make and why. Be open to discovering your brilliance, and your stupidity. Be open to changing your system when new truths (or previously unseen truths) become available. Be firm when everything has been scrutinized and it is still clear to you, that at least for you, the decision you make in a particular situation is based on wisdom and compassion. Be open to the fact that what is appropriate for you may not be appropriate for someone else and vice versa. Be open to the fact that you have some wisdom to share with other people and that done in the appropriate way, it is your obligation to help that other person see the light and vice versa.

The secondary system is this: do this journaling with other people in a blog called “System Sally” and let them call you on your lies, and stand up for your truth when it’s clear to you. Be an advocate for good systems.

Roughly try to think of What Constitutes a System

For example, is using a computer a system?
Is eating food a system?
Is saying “Use Microsoft Word to write a paper” a system?

Asking these kind of questions is a system, however.
The advantages of this system are that you get to write about more systems.

Sally’s Number One Blog Posting Rule

Post in spurts, regularly, or not at all. Also, some combination of those three. Also, starting a new blog is a good way to pretend as if you may start posting regularly. Also, starting a new blog is a good way to post in spurts. Also, starting a new blog may lead to not posting at all. Never make any commitments in terms of frequency of blog posting.