# Jerry seinfeld's rules for writing What they are might surprise you. First and foremost, he said writing is the hardest thing you can ever do. For people who take up the pen and go to war with parchment, paper or keyboard, this comedy legend salutes us all. Yet, there are some humanizing rules I found to be quite refreshing. I have a tendency to expect the most outrageous work ethic from myself, so his first rule was like a sigh of relief. He claims nobody can sit there and write all day - it's torture. Instead, rule 1 is to set a time limit for how long the creative session will last. In the beginning, maybe it's only 10 minutes, whatever you can do without going insane. Over time, build up, 15, 20, 25, etc. Rule 2 is, at the end of your writing time, reward yourself for the hard work with something you enjoy doing naturally. Over time, the positive feedback from your readers will be the greatest reward of all, but during the process you'll need a bit of happiness to keep you going. Perhaps a walk outside or a quick round of video games, whatever floats your boat. Rule 3, the final rule, is to systematize everything in your life so you can stay reasonably proficient. He gave examples of having a workout system he follows where he knows exactly what to do at every minute of the workout. The first two rules are actually combined to form a creative writing system for yourself. Nobody can argue with his results, and this might just be the way you can unlock your literary potential. Personally, I've been taking rule 3 to heart for a while. - I have bins for my shirts for work, workout, go out, and special. I never need to think about what I'm going to wear again, my system does that for me. - I know what food I'm going to eat on a daily basis (although I'm a bit hardcore with that since I eat the same thing everyday), and it all comes delivered from Costco so I don't waste time shopping. It also requires no cooking and barely any cleaning, so I'm incredible efficient with it. - My workout routine is consistent, with a built in mechanism to make it harder over time, so i never have to think about it, just do it. These are only a few examples, but alone these can be a game changer if you find yourself wasting time with fashion, food and exercise. That way you can focus on what really matters within your [[7 Core Disciplines|7 core disciplines]]. Let us not forget decision fatigue as well. We only have a limited amount of mental bandwidth before we lose the ability to make really good decisions. To use this information with others, try to make your requests earlier in the day or right after lunch. Over time people get grouchy. For yourself, I'd try to limit the number of decisions you have to make by systematizing the low impact decisions you have to make daily, like those illustrated above. Then, make your highest impact choices early in the day, and you should be safe from the dangers of decision fatigue. Anyways - when a true [[13 minutes to spare|craftsperson]] spills the beans on how they became successful, it's probably worth listening to. I'll be testing this out in more depth over the next few weeks, so be on the lookout for a follow up.