What is the Chain Method?

Don’t break the chain! If you haven’t heard of this productivity method, then it’s time to stop what you’re doing and read on. Made famous by comedian Jerry Seinfield, this productive way to track your progress and success is a simple way to complete your daily and long-term goals. Read on to find out how to incorporate this into your daily study or work life.

What is the Don’t Break the Chain Method?

Do you know it can take up to 10,000 hours to become an expert at something? So, whether you’re trying to study to become a doctor, wanting to become fluent in another language, or learning how to play the guitar. The secret to reaching your long-term goals is consistency. The Chain Method is a productivity hack that encourages you to be accountable to yourself. So, what exactly is the chain method? Well, it’s associated with comedian Jerry Seinfield, although he claims it’s not his original idea). He wanted to give himself the goal to write every day, so he was advised by another comedian to buy a big calendar and mark every day he writes with a red X. The longer you do this, the bigger the chain gets and the aim is to not skip a day or this will break the chain. A simple but powerful way to ensure that you stick to your daily goal. It is consistency and determination that will impact your long-term success.

Who is the Don’t Break the Chain Method good for?

If you like the pen-and-paper approach to getting things done and you want a simple approach to productivity then the chain method would be suitable for you. It is particularly useful and favorable to those who are satisfied by visually crossing things off their list and struggle to maintain consistency and set themselves ambitious goals but never achieve them.

Building habits one day at a time

It can be difficult to maintain a habit. Usually, on day one, you feel motivated, ready, and inspired to take on the world. Then, on day two, it feels a little bit harder, your optimism fades a little and you don’t know if you can keep up the challenge you have set for yourself. When it gets to day three, you may fall apart and fail and worry you have lost momentum. Whether it’s three days or three weeks, we all lose our motivation and go back to bad habits, especially when we are tired, stressed, or not feeling like ourselves. But building good habits is something that needs to be done one day at a time and it’s methods like the chain method that encourage and motivate you to keep moving forward.

Top tips from StudyStream

Here are some top tips from StudyStream when using the chain method:

Keep your progress visible, ideally use a physical calendar, but if you want to use an app, put it somewhere on your phone next to the apps that you actively use every day.

Don’t overachieve with your goals. Maybe to begin with, set yourself a goal for 30 days and gradually increase it. Think small and work towards your long-term goals a little bit at a time.

Have someone to keep you accountable. Whether it’s a study buddy you’ve met through StudyStream or a family member at home. Having someone to motivate you and keep you going will increase your chances of success.