Basic Pursuits

Brad Isaac learned something from Jerry Seifeld, "...that would benefit me a lifetime."

He revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here's how it works.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.

Over the years, Isaac has used Seinfeld's chain technique to accomplish many things like exercise and learning computer programming.

"It works," he said, "it isn't the one-shot pushes that get us where we want to go, it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes. You may have heard 'inch by inch anything's a cinch.' Daily action builds habits. It gives you practice and will make you an expert in a short time. If you don't break the chain, you'll start to spot opportunities you otherwise wouldn't. Small improvements accumulate into large improvements rapidly because daily action provides "compounding interest."

To many people an exercise program seems like a moon shot. But a little every day will soon instill the habit and if you are careful to enjoy it, the habit will become an addiction. Logging your food and tracking your nutrition may seem impossibly tedious, but a little bit every day will make an expert out of you in a short period of time.

Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret

Powered by ScribeFire.