"Don't Break the Chain" - Jerry Seinfeld's productivity system

day 19: intro to don't break the chain

12/19/2018

Don't Break the Chain - a productivity system #EpiWritingChallenge

The story goes that Brad Isaac, software developer by day and stand-up comic by night, received "his best advice ever from the already-famous comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, at an open mic night."

Discussing the challenge of coming up with new material, "Seinfeld explained his method for success: each January, he hangs a large Year-At-A-Glance calendar on his wall. For every day he wrote new material, he had the exquisite pleasure that can only come from drawing a big red "X" over that day."

In the first week of the #EpiWritingChallenge, we talked about making time for writing.

The story article above acknowledges that our "never ending to do lists" often hold us back from writing, especially if writing is a side passion.

In research, I can identify with this.

We have many more things to do beyond conducting experiments, data analysis, and writing. And yet those are often the final goals.

So we block off time, or we write 30 minutes of a day, or we kickstart a new system with a 4-week challenge.

Hopefully you've heard that breaking a bad habit takes time (like 30 days?) and creating a new good habit takes just as long.

Don't Break the Chain is a way to
1) track your progress and
) keep you from giving up.

To learn more about Don't Break the Chain check out these two articles from The Writers Store (same as above) and from Lifehacker.

Just like Kanban, there is an online tool for Don't Break the Chain at www.dontbreakthechain.com. If you use Chrome, there is also a Google Chrome App.

And for the mobile users, search your app store for "Don't Break the Chain". Some apps I've come across include Chains.cc, Day by Day, and Streaks. Do you know of any others?

Source: www.dontbreakthechain.com

Quote of the Day

“My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather have less to do.”
– Francine Jay

* Disclaimer: the above links are recommendations. If you decide to purchase the item through my link, I will earn a small amount of money at no extra cost to you. I am not endorsed by any of the publishing companies or manufacturers and have not received any products in exchange for writing this post.