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How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

jamesclear.com

41–50 of 95 posts

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#41

The don’t break the chain thing is nice. I’ve used it a few times, but it can be very demotivational when you had a super long chain and you broke it. It’s very hard to get momentum again.

I like averages for that reason. You can still play numbers go up, but is not nearly as devastating when you slip up. It is all about the trend

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#42
I just started using TikTik, and it's not bad. It separates "todo" items from "habits". Maybe all todo apps have this feature or something like it, but this is my first time I've tracked my to-do list this way. For like 25 years I've just had a text file which grew longer and longer.

So, you add all your one-off todo items as normal, but you can also set up habits, which are things that you want to do regularly ("take a walk", "get some sun", etc.) They reappear in the todo list daily (or when you want) and keeps track of streaks. I even have a habit called, "get at least one todo done" which helps with my procrastination!

It's working out well. I tend to get distracted, so I really like checking off habits as I go through my day. And it keeps track of bad habits too, which I check off at the end of the day if I haven't eaten junk food or whatever.

The only real problem is it doesn't give a good overview of all the todos you've added, so it's sort of of sight, out of mind. Though I'm sure I just need to use it some more to get used to it.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#43
Seinfeld is the King's Fool - the most ancient form of comedy. Feudal kings would keep a fool in their court to mock those who came before the king - a subtle form of power politics. Here is this insolent fool, who I will allow to mock you, with impunity. Now, laugh!

If the Fool were to start mocking the King himself, well, that Fool would not be long for this world. In today's system, that's been altered - the Fool just doesn't get their contract renewed. There was a brief period where Fools were able to break free and mock all those about them (see George Carlin) but that was quickly shut down, and now the Fools we still see know what subjects not to tackle... with a few exceptions, I suppose. Independent media and alternative venues, etc.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#44

Seinfeld is the King's Fool - the most ancient form of comedy. Feudal kings would keep a fool in their court to mock those who came before the king - a subtle form of power politics. Here is this insolent fool, who I will allow to mock you, with impunity. Now, laugh! If the Fool were to start mocking the King himself, well, that Fool would not be long for this world. In today's system, that's been altered - the Fool…

Is this true? I’m not aware of any topics that major and minor comics don’t discuss today.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#45

Seinfeld is the King's Fool - the most ancient form of comedy. Feudal kings would keep a fool in their court to mock those who came before the king - a subtle form of power politics. Here is this insolent fool, who I will allow to mock you, with impunity. Now, laugh! If the Fool were to start mocking the King himself, well, that Fool would not be long for this world. In today's system, that's been altered - the Fool…

Correction: Carlin was no fool, he was a foole. At least that's what he listed under "occupation". At one point he was America's fastest rising young foole.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#46

The don’t break the chain thing is nice. I’ve used it a few times, but it can be very demotivational when you had a super long chain and you broke it. It’s very hard to get momentum again.

A solution to this might be to plan the breaks ahead of time, or shoot for chains in defined lengths (like 5 days in a row). This gives you time to rest without feeling guilty, and prevents having long chains that can let you down if broken.

If you time it right, you end up with weekdays for work and weekends for rest.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#47
post #13

The funniest part of all this is it’s not true that Seinfeld ever said that. 1. Read the footnote in the article 2. Read this Reddit post by Jerry Seinfeld https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ujvrg/comment/ceitfx... I mean I definitely have increased my own skills over time by being consistent, but this is definitely a fake claim.

There's no humor like misattribution humor.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#48
Seinfeld talks a bit more in depth about his writing strategy in a podcast he did with Tim Ferriss:

podcast: https://tim.blog/2020/12/08/jerry-seinfeld/ transcript: https://tim.blog/2020/12/09/jerry-seinfeld-transcript/

The basic gist is to set a small manageable goal every day, and that you're just looking for progress. You don't second guess it, or agonize, you just do it. After you've done it, that's when you review your work with a critical eye for improvement.

I don't really think what Seinfeld talks about there is so much about procrastination, it's about improving at your craft. You can improve at your craft every day while still procrastinating on your important to do list.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#49
> year after year, he performs, creates, and entertains at an incredibly high standard.

That's a strange way of saying "had one incredible show 20+ years ago and never did anything worth watching again". Comedians in Cars was so boring (and doesn't require the strategy above). The standup ive seen him do since the show ended was pretty mediocre too.

Re: How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”

#50
post #44

Seinfeld is the King's Fool - the most ancient form of comedy. Feudal kings would keep a fool in their court to mock those who came before the king - a subtle form of power politics. Here is this insolent fool, who I will allow to mock you, with impunity. Now, laugh! If the Fool were to start mocking the King himself, well, that Fool would not be long for this world. In today's system, that's been altered - the Fool…

Is this true? I’m not aware of any topics that major and minor comics don’t discuss today.

Try Ukraine... the military industrial complex... the financialization of the economy... global trade policy and the Rust Belt... I mean, you can be edgy about social issues, I guess, but not about who owns Netflix and what their agenda is.

Here's someone on the Vietnam War for comparison... But it's hardly a 'current event'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT1u8J9jyOk

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