Procrastination is a big word, a thing cynical college students like to say they’re majoring in, and a matter of self-discpline. Allow me to share with you a self-disciplinary tool I have had considerable success with.
I found out about this one from Ishita’s friend, Tina. In Jerry Seinfeld’s early days as a comedian, he would write at least a joke a day to stay sharp, and mark an X on his calendar for each day he did so. Eventually “don’t break the chain” became an even greater motivator than “become an excellent comedian”, and his productivity blossomed.
Visually I need something flashier than black Xs (numerous Fear.less blog posts have been quite colorful before I had to change them back) so I have upgraded the Seinfeld chain for my personal use by making multiple chains of colored cells in a spreadsheet instead of a string of Xs. I have a blue chain for writing, a green chain for physical activity, and an important red one, the control chain. It asks a simple question of me: can I simply muster the discipline to do nothing more than remember to fill in the square? I personally am fine with these three but of course Seinfeld’s method can be used for… practicing an instrument daily, cooking your own meals, meditating, praying, calling loved ones… I don’t know. Whatever. The appeal for me is having multiple going at once, because success is pretty to look at.
I’ve been using this tool for a couple weeks now and all chains remain unbroken. Is it a little asinine to have one of them being just for me to remember to fill it in? Maybe. See Jen Louden’s Conditions of Enoughness, where simple steps and perhaps premature acceptance of circumstances are the route to satisfaction and habit-building.
That’s what this is about – habits. Anyone can stand up, pump their fists and say OKAY. I WILL WRITE THE PROPOSAL NOW. NO MORE WAITING, but that is only beating procrastination one dramatic time. Building a habit of diligence, though, that can prevent the problem from even arising. It’s a lot easier to blog for Fear.less when it counts toward my blue chain. And it’s a lot easier to live a healthier lifestyle if it contributes to a highly appealing rope of green squares. Just ask Ishita, or my parents, or anyone really – I am not a diligent guy, and so this tool’s success has made me believe strongly in it. I recommend it to anyone with focus issues and the wish to develop a skill, and suggest that you modify it however you see fit so your progress is gratifying.
So this is sort of me combining Julia Cameron’s regard for discipline with Chris Guillebeau’s penchant for computerized tools (remember his positive feedback file?) and Jen Louden’s conditions of enoughness with some Seinfeld thrown in for good measure. Another good reason why Fear.less stories are best taken two at a time.
Here's what it looks like. Gold days are tough days, so I can prepare.
Interesting visual demonstrating what you have done each day and even more interesting that you have succeeded (it seems)in turning maintaining the colored chain into your ‘reward’ or daily satisfaction. Just think if Michaelangelo were really doing this and it turned into the Mona Lisa – a stroke a day pointing beyond itself but quite gorgeous here and now.
Much food for thought. My initial reaction is that it would give me a head-ache and create even more pressure – but I can see that it could be tweaked to reflect my own style – and could turn into some kind of masterpiece (peace). Thanks for coming up with this and sharing.
xxAnne (Coach Paradise)
I think this is fantastic. I’m a big ideas person but low on execution, but I think something like this could help me develop some very positive habits.
One question, what does Control stand for?
Thanks for posting this (and for the magazine, I love it!)
Jude
[...] This pretty damn awesome idea on being productive. It almost scares me because I think it would work! Oh, the things that could happen! I’ve [...]
anne, our initial reactions were the same. indeed, the key is to tweak it (or any tool, really) until it fits you, and doesn’t feel like this silly contrived thing of someone else’s. now that i am a few weeks in, it doesn’t feel like pressure, it is starting to become a habit. i guess it helps that i have avoided having too many close calls, so it doesn’t seem like this epic struggle.
jude, control is named after the control group in a science experiment, the group that is supposed to undergo no changes. i thought this would be fitting because filling it in doesn’t actually involve any sort of habit or lifestyle change beyond just remembering to fill it in.
I don’t know if you post opposing viewpoints, but this seems quite the antithesis of living a real and full life. Instead of writing about riding my bike, I ride it. If I don’t I am fully aware of how I feel the next day.
I keep little moleskines of drawings of work I will execte at my bench. Some production, some experiemental, but I would not keep a chart of how much work I’ve executed, that is self evident. You don’t need a chart to tell you how much you’ve written, just a notebook or a computer file.
I guess I’m just at the point in my life where the doing and the living is the reward, not quanitifying it. That to me, is what’s fear.less
xoSherry
no, that’s fair. i don’t think this is for everyone. don’t forget that you are a proactive, ambitious person and i am a lazy, undisciplined dude who struggles to stay conscious even when doing things that he likes.
i don’t plan on using this tool for the rest of my life. outgrowing it will be on the radar at some point. it is a crutch for a personal weakness, and i wish that i didn’t need reminders and contrived motivation, but i do. i am okay with it because all other things being equal, i now have productive habits, like you do. even though i need to force myself to carpe diem, what comes out of it is still real. so i don’t feel like it’s the antithesis of living fully. i’m trying to fill in holes.
i am glad you posted because i need to write a new post and you have called to attention something important about fear.less.
As everything else in life, some things work for a few ones, some things don´t. We must consider the psychologic side of this useful chart. When we are normally disciplined (it is my case) maybe the best is not to put anything extra on our shoulders, otherwise it would seem to be an imposition (I have troubles with authority…hehehe) and I would hate to notice that I am over weighting my back. Besides, I am 64 and wish to live my life without any kind of “must do this, must do that”. I have already accomplished my tasks which allow me to live a good life now (I must say that I don´t need a lot of money to feel happy). I use my time acording to my inn-bell…which rings perfectly for me whenever necessary! But I would like to point out that this is useful for those who are younger than me and need a kind of push…:)
Thanks for writing so well, and for sharing your good-life receipt!
Hugs from Brazil.
Sônia