A few words about progress — incremental progress — progress achieved a few, small steps at a time thru steady, consistent action, with every step headed in the right direction.
When Jerry Seinfeld was starting out, he realized that the way to become a better comic was to create better jokes. And the way to create better jokes was to write a joke every day — which is a lot harder to do than it sounds. So, he got a wall calendar that showed a whole year on one sheet, and he posted it in plain view where others could see it. Then he got a big, red Sharpie, and each day that he wrote a joke, he put a big, red X on that day. After a few days, he had a chain of Xs — and his self-motivating battle cry became:
Don’t break the chain!
Each day the force of that mantra became stronger — and eventually, the chain became unbreakable. By that time, his production of one joke/ day had produced a huge portfolio of jokes. Many of them were good, and they seemed to get better as the chain got longer.
You can apply this technique to changes or improvements you want to make — on the jobsite and in your personal life. Here’s how to make it work:
- choose something specific you want to change or improve;
- figure out a way to measure your progress;
- identify one or two small, achievable things you can do that will move your measurement in a positive direction;
- track your results on a Seinfeld calendar.
Do this for a month — 30 days — then see where you stand. And note this key point: you did not set a goal. In Step 3, you focused on doing a few small, achievable things that would move you in the direction you wanted to go. At the 30 day mark, repeat Step 3 or change the mix to a set of things you think will be more effective. After several cycles, if you .
Don’t break the chain!
your repeated action — consistently doing a few small things, all in a positive direction — will achieve a goal.
If you search the Internet on:
Seinfeld calendar don’t break the chain
you’ll see many blog posts and YouTube videos that show how people have made Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret work.
Stuff To Think About. Like the Nike slogan says: Just Do It!
1. Pick out something you want to change or improve.
2. Figure out Steps 2 and 3,
3. Then get or make a Seinfeld calendar.
Give it a shot for 30 days and see what happens. Go for 60.
Then keep on keepin’ on.
