How Comedian Jerry Seinfeld Can Help You
Create and Maintain a Reading Habit
Jerry Seinfeld is best known for the television comedy series named after him. “Seinfeld” was a self-described show about nothing that aired during the 1990s. It was and is one of the most popular TV comedy series ever.
Before the series was launched, Jerry Seinfeld was a successful standup comedian. There is a story that says he once gave advice to an up-and-coming comic that asked him how he became so successful. Seinfeld said he worked on his craft daily, even if he didn’t feel like it.
That may sound like logical advice. It just makes sense. While this sounds simplistic, you can find a hundred excuses for taking a day off from any activity you’ve committed to.
The way the so-called Seinfeld method works is that you track your progress visually, not just mentally.
If you want to read more and maintain a healthy reading habit, purchase a large wall or desk calendar. Place it where you’ll see it every day without fail. Then give yourself a reading goal every day. Make it achievable and reasonable. Don’t ask yourself to do something you know will not be possible.
You may start by telling yourself you will read for an uninterrupted 30 minutes every day. The first day you successfully do this, fill that spot on your calendar with a bright color of your choosing. You might want to paste a happy face sticker on the day. Make it noticeable.
When you miss your goal one day, put a big, ugly, red X on the day instead. Look at how many days in a row you achieved before missing your goal. When you’re first starting out, this will be your longest streak of consecutive successes. After your X-day, start over and try to beat your previous best.
Here’s Why This Works so Well to Develop and Maintain a Reading Habit
The calendar must be where you see it every day, preferably at the beginning of your day. It works because it’s so visual. On days you forget about it, you get a visual reminder. If you can put your calendar in a place where others will see it, this gives you even more motivation not to miss a day.
Believe it or not, filling in a day with a bright green, yellow, or blue color is rewarding. You’ll feel good about it. Maybe you use the smiling face stickers we talked about. Whatever you do, make it a positive form of reinforcement.
Similarly, the pain you experience when you have to give yourself a brutal red X is very real.
Make sure your red X is big and ugly. It should really get your attention. After this happens, your sense of competition kicks in, and you want to get back on track. You will desire to do better tomorrow and beat your previous record of consecutive days reading.
Do this with anything you want to turn into a habit. It may sound simple, but it’s truly powerful. To be more successful, try to read at the same time every day. This makes reading a predictable habit, and you’ll start looking forward to your reading time.
