FIG. 30 X’s add up to extraordinary results!
In July 2007, software developer Brad Isaac shared a
productivity secret he reportedly got from comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
Before Seinfeld was a household name and still regularly toured,
Isaac ran into him at an open-mic comedy club and asked him for
advice on how to be a better comedian. Seinfeld told him the key was
to write jokes (hint: his ONE Thing!) every day. And the way he’d
figured out how to make that happen was to hang a huge annual
calendar on the wall and then put a big red X across every day he
worked on his craft. “After a few days, you’ll have a chain,” Seinfeld
said. “Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll
like seeing the chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your
belt. Your only job is to not break the chain. Don’t break the chain.”
What I love about Seinfeld’s method is that it resonates with
everything I know to be true. It’s simple. It’s based on doing ONE
Thing, and it creates its own momentum. You could look at the
calendar and be overwhelmed: “How can I commit to this for an
entire year?” But the system is designed to bring your biggest goal to
the now and simply focus on making the next X. As Walter Elliot
said, “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after
another.” As you complete these short races and get a chain going, it
gets easier and easier. Momentum and motivation start to take over.
There is magic in knocking down your most important domino
day after day. All you have to do is avoid breaking the chain, one day
at a time, until you generate a powerful new habit in your life—the
time-blocking habit.
Sound simple? Time blocking is—if you protect it.
PROTECT YOUR TIME BLOCK
For time blocks to actually block time, they must be protected.
Although time blocking isn’t hard, protecting the time you’ve blocked