Using the Seinfeld Strategy to Turn Little Habits into Important Wins

The strategy that helped me transform one little habit into an important win

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear shows how to create and keep habits. Little habits can lead to completing larger goals.

Suppose you want to write. Maybe you’ve got a book in mind or want to share what you know in a public forum. You’ll need to write it. The first step in becoming a writer is to build a habit of writing.

But forming a habit takes time.

It’s easy to forget.

In one post, Clear talks about using the Seinfeld Strategy to write. [1] The Seinfeld Strategy is easy to understand. And the strategy is the basis for habit trackers you can buy.

Suppose you’ve set up a task to help you reach a goal. Then:

1. Buy a 365-day calendar or use an online one. [2]

2. Completed the task? Mark off the day.

After you’ve completed the task for a few days, you’ll see a chain. You don’t want to break that chain. Then you’ll have to start over. This leads to the final step.

3. Keep extending the chain.

According to Clear, it takes 21 days to form a habit. Also, don’t try to start too many habits at the same time.

The goal is to work on one at a time, unless there’s a natural connection. Like flossing your teeth after you’ve brushed.

In November 2022. I starting writing (almost) everyday. I did this for three months. By January 31 (2023), I had 35,000 words and had (very) rough draft of my book.

But I had a problem.

I can’t write every day. Nerve damage and arthritis cause my hands to hurt a lot if I spend too much time on a manual task. Like typing or writing by hand.

But there was another habit, closely related to writing that I could do: I could read every day.

Because Kindle has a built-in calendar, it’s easy to tell that I’ve read from a book every day since November 1, 2023. [3] I’ve read at least once a week since the pandemic. But I broke the chain of reading every day so often that I never had a chain.

I had the wrong goal.

My main goal was to finish reading two particular books. My secondary goal was to read more nonfiction.

Clear says that the task must be simple and important. Finishing a book was an important task, but it wasn’t simple. I could break the book into chapters and allocate days to that, as I had when I was in college.

But that tactic didn’t work for me anymore.

But reading once a day from a book was simple. I wanted to spend time to get to know the characters in the novels I read. Or get to know the big idea in a nonfiction work. Because I wanted to tell better stories.

To be a good writer, you have to read.

Then the language flows. Grammar isn’t an issue. Spelling correctly is easier too.

As of March 1 (2025), I had read 487 days in a row. I had less success writing every day.

And I’ve read over 100 books in the last two years. Including that pesky two I was having trouble finishing--Naked Economics and Naked Money by Charles Wheelan. I also read most of Atomic Habits.

Reading more from books as opposed to posts and email was my goal. Turning it into a daily task made it happen. [4]

Think about your own writing. What could you make happen if you could just write 100 words every day?

You can write a 500-word post and have time to edit it, for one! [5]

I’ve done this for over a year on Substack now. I’ve also finished a rough draft and self edits on my book. I have a publisher.

Because that big goal has always been to publish a book.

Not just any book.

It’s just a little book on the economy.

Details to come as available.

Happy writing. And as always, thank you for reading,

Nikki

BTW, Mr. Clear was struggling with one of his own habits at the time of the post. He was trying to graduate to writing 1000 words a day. But he kept breaking the chain.

---

[1] Jerry Seinfeld shared his plan with aspiring comedian Brad Isaac.

[2] A monthly one will work too.

[3] I started with a Kindle reader on my iPad because I couldn’t hold physical books anymore. It doesn’t mean that I don’t still buy them, though!

[4] My husband wanted me to point out that I’m a bit obsessive. I said, “pot meet kettle.”

[5] In this case, the 500-word post turned into 750 words.