Seinfelds 24 Hour Rule

Imagine you have just finished writing what you believe to be comedy gold.

There will be an urge to immediately show it to someone. Friends, family, colleagues, strangers…

Trust me: Don’t!

In an interview with Tim Ferris, Jerry Seinfeld talks about his 24 hour ruleSource which basically says:

Don’t tell anyone about what you have written that day on the day itself.

Wait until at least 24 hours have passed before showing your work to anyone. Because if someone isn’t as enthusiastic about your ideas as you are yourself, it will make you doubt your work and take away all the contentment you had about having written that day.

Don’t make yourself dependent on the reaction of others when it comes to the value and pride you assign to your work. Being constantly at the mercy of others if what you have created that day is of any value, will make you lose motivation fast. It will lead to second-guessing yourself, blunting your own comedy instinct and simply make you unhappy.

But if you take pride in having written instead of what you have written that day, it will most likely lead to more writing.

By focusing on taking pride in having written your self value won’t depend on the content and the reaction it gets. But in the act of writing itself. Something which, and here I’m gonna put some major emphasis, is SOMETHING YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF!

Remember the Growth Mindset? You can control how much you write but not the reaction it will get. But writing more will always lead to better content because you will be able to trim your material more easily just because you simply have more material to cut.

Protect the happiness and the pride of having written that day at all costs. It maybe won’t get you the immediate satisfaction of getting a laugh off something you have written mere minutes ago. But in the long run it will make you way happier and also more successful in your writing career.

Having said all that, please follow me to the Caveat Corner: Sometimes the only way to get out of a writing funk or being able to continue writing something is to show your work to someone.

A fresh perspective, even if it is a negative one, will help you see your work for what it is. But if you just started writing creatively stick to Seinfelds advice until you feel comfortable in your writing skin.