The Seinfeld Productivity Calendar is a simple way to coax you into accomplishing your goals. Its creator, Jerry Seinfeld, is not only a sophisticated actor but a driven and organized producer.
What You Need
You probably already have the materials needed in order to set up a Seinfeld Productivity Calendar.
- • Goals. 1-3 simple goals are a good start. List what you need to do every day to accomplish these goals. For example, jogging a mile will take half an hour out of your day and a change of clothes.
- • List the minimum that you need to accomplish as your daily goal. Give yourself some rules and allowances for exceptions. For example, if you are dieting, give yourself one cheat day per time period, but delineate a way to make up for it within a certain time frame.
- • Use a calendar to track your goals. A whiteboard calendar works, but paper is more bold and permanent. Plus, a whiteboard calendar only tracks a single month; your daily goals probably extend beyond a month.
- • Buy the brightest, boldest, fattest marker you can find.
Don’t Break the Chain
Once you have your goals, daily minimums, and marker, and your calendar is tacked to the wall, you are ready to begin. All you have to do is put a big fat X through the date on the calendar when you accomplish your daily goals.
So, how will this actually help?
The Seinfeld Productivity Calendar is about continued motivation. It’s pretty easy to get yourself motivated when you start something new, but when something takes longer to accomplish, it’s easy to lose drive and start slacking off.
Gold Stars
The Seinfeld Calendar creates a very simple, visual reinforcement that makes you feel successful. As the Xs line up, you will start feeling good about your goal and not want to break the chain. The longer you stay with it, the easier it will be to motivate yourself to not to ruin the streak. Marking a big X on your calendar will become like earning gold stars when you were a kid in elementary school.
Customize It
The Seinfeld Calendar can be easily customized and can be a great tool to help motivate teams to achieve projects at work. Hang a giant calendar in the office and watch your staff start obsessing about the Xs.
Does the Seinfeld Calendar sound like a tool that could help motivate you to stay on task? Are there other systems that you have used to achieve your personal or corporate goals? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!