Greatest Productivity Hack And Tiny Habits.

Rewriting this article on tiny habits and productivity. I am updating this post after the 78 straight days of blogging into the aether. I got to 78 straight days of writing, by following the advice I share in this tiny article. Well, These are still my top 2 recommendations for reading.

• Is this Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld
• Tiny Habits – The small changes that change everything by BJ Fogg.

Even if you don’t get to read the books, here are somethings I really think will make a big difference in your life, immediately.

From Tiny Habits

BJ practices what he calls Maui habit. This is how it goes:

After I put my feet on the floor in the morning

I will say “It’s going to be a great day.”

And then celebrate. <Do a fist bump. Say Yes. Do a little dance – whatever celebration comes naturally to you.

From Tiny Habits The small changes that change everything by BJ Fogg.

From Is this Anything?

While I still catch the Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee often on Netflix, And Seinfeld claims again and again that his work(the book, and the show) is about nothing, It truly is about everything.

Going back to why I wanted to write about Seinfeld’s Productivity hack today, is because I recently discovered how consistently Seinfeld writes, and creates his material. Seinfeld told Tim Ferriss in an interview recently that he writes every single day for 30 minutes. Follows the exact same routine. Morning Coffee, Yellow Pad, Bic Pen. No matter what, he writes in those 30 minutes or stares at the blank page if he cannot come up with anything. Writing is hard work!

This attitude is the exact way to start out in the world of comedy. Expect Nothing. Accept Anything.

Jerry Seinfeld

There is this famous idea making rounds in the internet, which Seinfeld has since declined on a Reddit AMA but I love the idea and still prefer to call it the Jerry Seinfeld Productivity hack.

Consistency – Greatest Productivity Hack

Take any goal. Strength training, Weight Loss, making Top Sales Person of the Year for your company. And for me Writing. I am trying to Write. So here is how you approach it.

1. Get a Wall Calendar with large boxes for each day.
2. Write each day. (Train each day, make that sales call each day, take action)
3. Use a Big red marker to cross off the date for every day that you take action.
4. After a few days you will have a chain of Red Xs.
5. Your only job from then on is – Do not break the chain.

So, even though Jerry did not come up with the idea, I have watched way too much Seinfeld that I almost hear the instructions in his voice.

What is a Tiny Habit?

Writing is hard. (So is strength training, running, eating healthy, losing weight)

Well this is where tiny habits come in. BJ Fogg describes a tiny habit as a behavior that you do one time, that takes less than 30 seconds to do and finally that requires very little effort.

How would one apply this to writing? Using the tiny habit framework, here is what I will do:

After I make my morning tea, I will go to my office and open wordpress to write. <And then do not forget to celebrate. Fist Bump! >

How would you apply this to strength training?

After I finish dinner, I will lay out my gym clothes and shoes. <And then do not forget to celebrate. Fist Bump! >

Here are some other simple yet effective tiny habit examples to start doing right now?

• After I get up from my work desk, I will tidy up one item. And then Always “CELEBRATE”
• After I brush my teeth, I will floss one tooth. And then Always “CELEBRATE”
• After I lay my head on the pillow, I will be grateful for one positive thing from my day. And then Always “CELEBRATE”

I see, you get the idea.

What has celebration got to do with tiny habits or goal setting?

I write more about Celebrations here Why is Celebration important in creating habits? What are your favorite ways to celebrate? Think – what you do when you are able to solve a difficult problem? Or When you ace a test? Or when you

---

Oh as for Jerry Seinfeld’s “Is this anything?” It is just a fun book to read and be inspired by the amazing craftsman that he is. If you have been a fan of the sitcom, it is like reading it on the page. It is actually about everything!

What is your big goal that you can apply the tiny habits method to?

_{Jerry Seinfeld Experiment: Don’t break the chain. Post #78.}