1. Fashion
In: Clothing choices
Out: Social approval
Factors: Trends; Creativity; Price range
Feedback: Compliments; Staring
Leverage: Trends – Wear something that is a fashion trend now that is really impractical; Wear all the current trends at once

2. Communication
In: Gesture
Out: Recognition
Factors: Loneliness; Social norms; Distractions; Environment
Feedback: Response; Comfort/ Satisfaction
Leverage: Response – Respond inappropriately (yell or cry); Do not respond

3. Transportation
In: Body
Out: Body
Factors: Time; Access; Safety
Feedback: Word of mouth; Customer satisfaction
Leverage: Time – take an indirect route; Do not change position (not moving Point A to B)
*Note/Question: How does this affect/ critique the system?

4. Commerce
In: $ $ $
Out: Good/service
Factors: Want; Need; Access
Feedback: Customer satisfaction
Leverage: Access – Take too much for $ value; Affect others’ access

5. Eating
In: Food
Out: Energy (?)
Factors: Hunger; Availability
Feedback: Full/Satiated
Leverage: Hunger – Eat past ‘full’ or when not hungry; Food – Eat no food or eat ‘non-food’ material

6. Pet
In: Food; Care/Shelter
Out: Love
Factors: $$; Distractions; Time
Feedback: Pet shows affection/respect to owner; Pet wants to play; Pet allows petting/cuddling
Leverage: Time – Spend all day w/ pet instead of only feeding it.  Does pet get annoyed?

7. Education
In: Person; Attention
Out: Demonstrated Learning (Papers, Exams, Work, etc.); Knowledge
Factors: Time; $$; Availability; Resources
Feedback: Grades; Personal satisfaction
Leverage: Demonstrated – produce nothing

8. Personal Relationships
In: Person/Self
Out: Companionship
Factors: Time; Vulnerability; $
Feedback: Closeness
Leverage: Vulnerability – Don’t get vulnerable; Time – Do not be available

9. Artistic Production
In: Effort
Out: Product
Factors: Time; Materials; State of mind; Cultural demands
Feedback: Public reaction
Leverage: Materials – Create something out of nothing

10. Cleaning
In: Effort
Out: No mess; Clean sanitary surfaces
Factors: Time; Materials
Feedback: Space; Relief
Leverage: Effort – Spend time but make few changes to relieving mess.

Part II of the Systems Procedure was to choose an everyday procedure and turn it around, pushing it further in the opposite direction.  I decided to switch to using my left hand instead of my dominant right hand to go through a day.  This forced me to really focus on menial tasks which usually don’t take much thought such as dressing and eating.  Using my left hand, generally increased the effort for each and every task throughout the day.

1.  indoor v. outdoor

2. text v. in-person

3. digital time v. watch

4. careful v. careless

5. chopstick v. fork

6. lens v. glasses

7. typing v. writing

8. reusable v. disposable

9. traditional v. unconventional

10. Using left hand for all major functions throughout the day, to really focus on what I am doing, and putting more effort into each and every action.

Here is a list of systems in my life. Underneath each system I have also added ways in which I can mess up the system by changing something about the feedback:

1. Cooking:
   Input: Hunger
   Output: Satisfaction
   Feedback: Talent/skill
   Other Factors: Diet, time, peopleCook dishes have never cooked before for a day
   Only cook what I can make within 5 minutes.
   Assemble all pics of food I have eaten over the past few years (I always take pics of new things I eat/ cook)
2. Communication:
   Input: Necessity
   Output: Knowledge gained or given
   Feedback: Urgency
   Other Factors: intelligence, language, personal vs. professionalRespond to all email, text, etc, that I receive within a day
   Speak with a thick Indian accent for a day
3. Religion
   Input: Belief
   Output: Tradition
   Feedback: Passion
   Other Factors: Family, culture, time, dedicationTry reading a religious text that is not from my religion
   Attend another religions’ meeting
4. Language
   Input: Idea
   Output: Communicate
   Feedback: Audience
   Other Factors: Culture, Family, Friends, Location, SpeciesSpeak Tamil to everyone for one day
5.  Transportation
   Input: Leave
   Output: Arrive
   Feedback: Distance
   Other Factors: Weather, Time, CompanyVisit a PAT public meeting
   Walk to all destinations regardless of distance
   Wait for 1 specific bus the whole day
6. Hygiene
   Input: routine
   Output: Clean
   Feedback: Tolerance (of feeling dirty)
   Other Factors: Family, Friends, Responsibilities, SocietyDedicate 2 hours for brushing my teethe
   Bathe in ice cold water for a week
7. Study
   Input: Confused
   Output: Understand
   Feedback: Skill
   Other Factors: Interest, tiredness, timeAttend academic development
   Attend study sessions for 1 day (even if I do not take the class)
8. Relationships
   Input: Lonely
   Output: Support System
   Feedback: Maintenance (keeping in touch)
   Other Factors: Who?, Family, Professional vs. Personal, memories, grudgesRespond to all email, texts, social media, that I receive in a day (even if it is spam)
   Write letters to everyone that I have not kept in touch with
9. Reading
   Input: Curiosity
   Output: Knowledge
   Feedback: Time/speed
   Other Factors: Interest, personal vs assigned, genre, lengthOnly read Magazines for one day
   Read texts that are not assigned and are not interesting for me
10. Sleeping
    Input: exhausted
    Output: refreshed
    Feedback: Time
    Other Factors: work, tiredness, Parents, schedule, rulesDo not sleep for a night
    Sleep with hourly interruptions
    Spend a day where you sleep for an hour, work an hour, sleep, work, sleep, etc
11. System That I changed for 1 day:
    Self – improvement
    Input: Need to Change
    Output: Become a better person
    Feedback(negative) : criticism
    Feedback(Positive) : Praise
    Other Factors: work, professionalism, self-esteem, confidence, societyIn this system, I found it interesting that the system has clear negative and positive feedbacks. However, People most often seek to improve themselves through criticism even though positive reinforcement (praise) is proven to work better. I believe that this system is closely tied in with societal norms or pressures; if someone seeks praise then they are labelled as narcissistic, over-confident, and more. It is also hard to receive praise since we are not trained on how to graciously accept it. To break this system, I spent a day trying to let everyone on my contacts list know what great things they’ve done for me or just how special they were. After getting past the initial discomfort of writing such wonderful things and sending them out to be judged, it was interesting to see the different reactions.
    Here is a link to the post which Documents this experience: teach.alimomeni.net/2014spring1/?p=4024