The 'Seinfeld' strategy

Online fitness classes have been introduced to quite a few of us, thanks to the pandemic. I have joined one right from the start, and it has been super fun to do. No driving to the gym and wasting too much time getting ready. Just freshen up in few minutes, put on your gym clothes and walk few metres to the next room. Last week, the trainer had to cancel the classes for a couple of days and with that my 'chain' was broken. I hadn't missed a class for the longest time. When the classes resumed again, I found it super hard to get up and stay motivated. Something surprisingly, I didn't have trouble for more than a year.

I read about the Seinfeld method previously but always questioned its utility. If you don't know about the Seinfeld method, it's a method to stay consistent on any activity. Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most successful comedians of all time. He used to take a big wall calendar and hang it on a prominent wall. On the day you do the activity you intend to, you mark a big 'X' on the date. After a few days, you will have a chain, which will get longer and longer each day. The only job now is not to break the chain.

Top performers in every field — athletes, musicians, CEOs, artists — they are all more consistent than their peers. They show up and deliver day after day while everyone else gets bogged down with the urgencies of daily life and fights a constant battle between procrastination and motivation. While most people get demotivated after a bad day, top performers settle right back into their pattern the next day. The Seinfeld strategy works because it takes the focus away from the result and focuses on the process instead.

I have been trying this out now with my fitness regimen. It's beginning to help a great deal. Even if it's a Sunday (Equivalent to a rest day), a short walk with my son helps get the blood flowing and avoids going back to lazy mode.

So often, we assume that excellence requires a monumental effort and that our lofty goals demand incredible doses of motivation, but really, all we need is dedication to small, manageable tasks.

That’s where the Seinfeld strategy really helps.