Late-Day Reflections
It was late in the day, and David found himself once again failing to stick to his habits. He had set a goal to read a few pages from a book and dedicate time to learning Illustrator for his job. While David was thinking about these things, he fell asleep.
Morning Realization
When he woke up the next day, which was Saturday, he felt sluggish. He was unsatisfied and unhappy because it seemed like he didn't have any control over his life. Determined to find a solution, he decided to visit a bookstore and find a new book that could help him.
The Encounter
As he browsed through the habit and self-help bookshelves, a friendly old man approached him. "It seems that you are searching for something. Maybe I can help you. I’ve read at least one book every week for the last 30 years, and a big portion of those books were self-help books."
David's Struggles
What the old man said was David's dream. David couldn't even finish a book in a month, let alone a book in a week. So David said, "Although I’ve read some books such as Atomic Habits and Tiny Habits, I’m still struggling with building my habits. One habit I want to develop is consistent reading, and I also want to spend time learning new skills every day. But how do you manage to read so much? How do you stay consistent?"
The Offer of Help
The old man smiled, remembering his own struggles in the past. "I want to help you because I've been in your shoes before, struggling with life. But you have to follow my advice step by step. Do we have an agreement?" David nodded eagerly. "Yes, I'm willing to do whatever it takes."
An Invitation to Learn
"In that case, come to my house. There's something I want to show you," the old man suggested. David agreed, and they made their way to the old man's house. It seems that he worked from his house because he had an office there, and there were a lot of strange things in his office.
The Power of Visual Clues
The old man started, "You mentioned in the bookstore that you've read Atomic Habits and Tiny Habits, so I think you already know some stuff about starting small. But I think your problem is visual clues."
"Visual clues?" David replied.
"Yes. Today I will show you just two things. If you apply them, we can have other meetings in the future; otherwise, it seems that you don't care so much. And in that case, I won't be able to help you anymore."
"I promise I will do them," David replied.
The First Strategy: Don't Break the Chain
The old man continued: "If you could get immediate results from learning a new skill, you wouldn't procrastinate doing it. So, actually, the main problem is the achievement gap—the gap between the time you put effort into some activities and the results you don't get and don't see right now. So, why not bring some of those rewards to the current time?"
"But how can I do it?" David asked.
"As I've told you, I will show you two things. But let's start with the first one."
Seinfeld's Calendar Method
They walked toward the blackboard on the wall, and David followed him. While they were going toward the blackboard, David saw two jars with two labels on them. He asked, "What are those jars?"
"They are part of the second strategy I will teach you. But first, let me explain something related to the blackboard."
David looked at the blackboard. There were a lot of Xs with dots on it.
"This is what I call the 'Don't Break the Chain Calendar.' I've been using this strategy since I heard a story about Seinfeld. Some people say the story is not about Seinfeld, but it doesn't matter to me. The method itself matters to me. Here's the story," the old man began.
The Story of Seinfeld
Once Brad Isaac, who was a young comedian, found Jerry Seinfeld performing in a place. So, he did a one-to-one interview with Seinfeld and asked him for tips for a young comic. Jerry Seinfeld told him: To become a better comic, you need to create better jokes, and in order to create better jokes, you need to write jokes daily. He suggested buying a big-wall calendar and hanging it on a wall where you see it often. Then go and buy one of those red markers. So, every day you write a joke, you should put an X on that day. If you do so, after a while, especially after a couple of weeks, you will have a calendar with a long chain of Xs. And thereafter, you need to keep that chain and try to “Not Break the Chain.”
Applying the Calendar Method
"What you see on the blackboard is essentially that strategy, with a few customizations of my own. I'll explain those customizations in our future sessions. Remember, though, if you don't apply these strategies before our next meeting, it will be our last," the old man warned.
"I will definitely apply them," David assured him.
The Second Strategy: The Paperclip Method
"OK. Now, let’s talk about those 2 jars. They can be particularly helpful in the early stages of habit formation, as they make it more like a game. You might not need them after a few months, but initially, they add an element of fun. As you can see, there are two jars on the table. One of them is labeled 'A,' and the other one is labeled 'B.' You can put beads, paperclips, or anything else you like in Jar ‘A’. And they don’t necessarily need to be two jars. You can use two glasses or two bowls, and so on. These things don’t really matter."
The Story of Trent Dyrsmid
"Now let me tell you the story that inspired me to start applying this strategy. The story itself explains the strategy. In 1993, a bank in Abbotsford, a suburb near Vancouver in Canada, hired a 23-year-old man stockbroker named Trent Dyrsmid. So based on the location and the fact that Dyrsmid was a person who had little experience, not much was expected from him. But using a small, seemingly insignificant daily habit, Dyrsmid made enormous progress in his career."
The Paperclip Habit
Each morning, Dyrsmid would put two empty jars on his desk. And then he would fill one of those jars with 120 paper clips, and the other jar was still empty. After starting his work, whenever he would make a sales call, he would immediately move one paper clip from the filled jar to the empty jar. He would continue this process until moving all the paper clips to the other jar. And this was not only gamification but also would show him the progress toward his goal on that day. So, using this small, seemingly insignificant daily habit, Dyrsmid was bringing 5 million dollars to that firm within about 18 months. When I was reading his story, suddenly, a great quote from Jim Rohn came to mind: “Success is a numbers game.”
Adapting the Paperclip Method
"Now, you might argue that your habits are different. For example, let's say your goal is to spend 18 minutes each day learning a new skill. Well, that’s very easy! You can generalize this strategy to these kinds of tasks as well. You can put 9 beads in Jar ‘A’. And every time you dedicate two minutes to the task, move one bead to Jar ‘B’. If you repeat this process nine times and move all nine beads, you're done! It's like a progress bar in a game, making it more enjoyable."
Final Words of Wisdom
"David, remember this quote from Jim Rohn: 'It’s not if I could, I would. Rather, it’s if I would, I could.' Think about it, David. It's a powerful quote. And don't forget, our next meeting depends on you applying these strategies or not. I also know that in other parallel worlds, some people are watching us on YouTube. I hope they apply these strategies too. If they want to have future meetings, they should subscribe to watch our next videos. And they should like the video! Because if they don’t like the video, YouTube will not show the video to more people," the old man concluded.