The Seinfeld Method
Hey friends,
I love to watch sitcoms. I certainly don’t need any motivation to spend hours watching Friends or Seinfeld while chugging down a tube of ice cream.
But I needed a lot of motivation today to write this newsletter, which was why I decided to write about the method Jerry Seinfeld used to be one of the most successful comedians of all-time.
Brad Isaac, a software developer once reached out to Seinfeld for tips for a young comedian.
He said the way to be a better comic was to create better jokes and the way to create better jokes was to write every day.
He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker. He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day.
“After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.”
I kept this in mind when I was lazing around, putting off my weekly writing. I’ve been writing for about 7 weeks now, and I’d hate to “break the streak”. If I want to get better at writing, I need to be consistent and show up every single day.
Now that I’ve published this, I can tick off another date on my calendar. :)
Thanks for reading,
Haikal
P/S: Please do reply to this email if you have anything to add / any questions. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what was useful about it and what could be changed.
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What I'm Currently Reading
Katie Everson - I mentioned scientific journals to a... | Facebook
A brilliant comic style infographic I read recently while mindlessly scrolling Facebook explaining publications in academic journals. Worth a read.
100 Things I Learned in 10 Years and 100 Reads of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations - RyanHoliday.net
Currently reading this on my Instapaper
App I'd Like to Share
Forest is an app that stops you from being distracted by your phone. You plant a digital plant for a set time, and if you use your phone before the timer ends, it dies.
Quote I'm Pondering On
Author James Clear on achieving exceptional results:
“A few things you need to achieve exceptional results:
1) Quantity: You take lots of shots.
2) Quality: You take thoughtful shots.
3) Consistency: You keep shooting for a long time.
4) Feedback. You take better shots over time.
5) Luck: You get a few favorable bounces.”
Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph on how to lose:
“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”
This Week's Blog Post
How to Win At College by Cal Newport - Book Summary - Haikal Kushahrin
I struggled to write out a book note this week too, so I decided to pick a book I’ve read long ago. Hopefully this still counts as not “breaking the chain”.