The first day of the week can be a daunting prospect with so much undone ahead of you. Look at it from another point of view, though, and Monday is a perfect day for starting new habits and striving towards new goals.
If you ask around the office here at Integrative Nutrition, our goals include many small intentions, like exercising more often, accomplishing creative projects, learning a new skill or language, and keeping our apartments cleaner.
These goals can fall through the cracks, though, because they seem too ambitious or maybe we just forget to work on them. They would be much more manageable if broken up into small chunks. So why not resolve to work towards these goals a little bit everyday?
The problem is holding yourself accountable. Jerry Seinfeld (yes, THAT Jerry Seinfeld) has a ridiculously simple, but amazingly effective, solution that only requires a wall calendar and a big red marker.
Simply tack the calendar up on your wall somewhere you'll see it every day. We suggest using a real calendar, as opposed to a digital one, over your desk or in your kitchen to ensure you'll see it everyday.
Then set a daily task for yourself in pursuit of the goal. Each day you accomplish that task, you get to place a big 'X' over that day. The action is so very satisfying (especially if you use a real wall calendar). After a few days of accomplishing your daily task, you'll have a chain of 'X's, and trust us on this, you'll love that visual representation of your steady progress. You won't want to break the chain.
Then, little by little, you'll achieve your goals!
So what can you get done with the Seinfeld method? Here are a few ideas:
- Eat a healthy breakfast.
- Quit hitting the “snooze” button.
- Practice yoga or exercise.
- Write, draw, or paint for 15 minutes.
- Meditate.
- Clean your apartment for at least 10 minutes.
- Take the stairs.
- Practice Spanish for 30 minutes.
Do you think the Seinfeld Productivity Secret can help you build better habits? Share with us what you plan on accomplishing!
