Get Organized: What Jerry Seinfeld Can Teach You About Productivity

Watch this video on YouTube instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5GEA7724tc

How can you apply Seinfeld's secret productivity tip to your life? I'd love to hear your ideas! Leave a comment here to share...

Video Transcript:

Hi there. My name is Carmen Coker, and I'm a professional organizer and productivity expert. And if you've been a follower of mine in any capacity, whether it's my newsletter, my blog, social media or anything in between, then you probably know a dirty little secret of mine...and that is that I love celebrity gossip. And I especially love it when I find a quote from an A-lister about whether or not they're neat freak or they're the opposite. What I don't find very often is when a celebrity is actually dishing out advice on how to be organized and more productive. And so when I come across something like that, I like to share it because it's very fascinating, for me at least, and I know there are a lot of you out there who also enjoy the celebrity culture. So, hopefully, you'll listen to this and take something away.

The celebrity in question is Jerry Seinfeld, and he was once asked what his biggest tip for being productive and successful happen to be. And he said, "Don't break the chain."

Now, what exactly did he mean by that? Well, he went on to explain that, as a comedian, in order to be a good comedian, he had to write every single day...but sometimes he didn't feel like it. And I know that there are a lot of you out there who can relate to that as well, when there's something that you have to do day in and day out, and you really just don't feel like it all the time. So he said what he would do is every time he would sit down to write, he would put a big "X"on his calendar and that eventually would, after one or two days, would make a chain. And so his motivation was to keep that chain going on his calendar and to not break it.

So what you can see behind me are some examples of how you can apply the don't-break-the-chain method in your life. Across the top is Monday through Friday and that would be something like Seinfeld was trying to do, where he was writing every single day. That's one example of a chain.

You also have something on maybe one day a week. For example, maybe you like to have lunch with your best friend because having that friendship and keeping that friendship is a high priority for you. So you would have a chain of Wednesdays all the way down your calendar. Or maybe you like going to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays or perhaps even Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, so you would have a chain of Tuesdays-Thursdays or Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays.

These are just a few examples of how you can use the don't-break-the-chain method in your calendaring and planning. And if you decide to use this method, I'd really love to know how it goes for you. So definitely leave a comment for me. That's it for this video. We'll see you next time.

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Would you like to use this video in your e-zine or on your website or blog? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Carmen Coker is a professional organizer who helps individuals find the motivation and know-how to get organized and stay organized. To learn how to save money, create more space, and manage your time through organization, claim your "FREE Tip Kit: 10+ Pages of Tips and Tools to Help You Get Organized — Finally!" at www.OrganizeClutterbugs.com