The Blackjack Technique

Stop sweating habit formation

Have you ever wanted to effortlessly start (and more importantly maintain) a new habit that you wish you would’ve started years ago?

I’ve got you.

I wrote about my overly structured morning routine a few weeks ago in Nobody can compete with you on being you. I can’t tell you how many people came up to me and asked, ‘What’s with the 21-minute obsession?’. Okay, the truth is I can tell you how many people: three. But God knows more wanted to. Okay. Let’s be honest. Two real people and my mom. Not that my mom isn’t a real person, but whenever I show her my latest article, she gets quiet and teary-eyed, and you can tell she’s thinking, “Oh, honey, did you make that yourself?” like it’s a finger painting about to be hung on the fridge.

Anyways.

Here’s my ridiculously specific morning routine for those who missed it:

• Wake up at 05:55.

• Meditate for 21 minutes.

• Drop to the floor to do 21 pushups.

• Write in isolation in my office for 21 minutes.

• Read for 21 minutes while sipping on a warm cup of coffee.

• Head to the gym where I attempt to pump some iron for 21 minutes.

There is a surprising reason behind the 21-minute shtick. I call it The Blackjack Technique. It promises to help you form any new habit you want within 21 days. It has a 100% success rate because I’m the only data point so far. But I’m confident it will work for you too. With one caveat, you have to follow the exact process I lay out. No cutting corners. No sick days. No excuses. Period.

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Capeesh?

I hope you’re buckled in. Let’s ride.

I don’t know why this would ever be the case with someone as motivated as you, but let’s hypothetically say there’s a habit you’ve been wanting to form for years but just haven’t been able to make a reality.

We all know that we are supposed to floss, eat healthy, exercise regularly, learn new stuff, blah blah blah. Then why don’t we just do it?

Two common excuses:

1. I think I know how hard something is going to be so I psych myself out before ever beginning.

2. I get super motivated and go all out for a few days then the motivation wears off and I quit.

Sound familiar?

That’s where The Blackjack Technique comes in.

Let’s say you want to start meditating. You’ve heard countless people talk about how it changed their lives and gave them superpowers so you want to see what the fuss is all about. Maybe you’ve even tried it a few times in the past but found it more painful than having your dad yank out your loose baby tooth with a pair of pliers.

Here’s the antidote.

Day 1

Sit down. Set a timer on your phone for one minute. Start timer. Close eyes.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Turn off timer. That’s it for today. You’re finished. Get on with your day.

Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash

That wasn’t so bad, was it?

You don’t need to sit through the agonizing thirty minute guided vipassana meditation you found on Youtube. In fact, that’s the worst place you could start.

“But Arman, I can’t call myself a meditator after sitting down for one minute. That was too easy.”

That’s the whole point.

You have to make it excruciatingly easy at the beginning. It’s counterintuitive but true. So easy that it feels like a waste of time. Guess what, that means you’re on the right track.

Day 2

Sit down. Set a timer on your phone for two minutes. Start timer. Close eyes.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Turn off timer. That’s it for today. You’re finished. Get on with your day.

Starting to catch on?

You just doubled your meditation practice in one day. The best part? It was still really freaking easy. Unlike me, you probably didn’t even break a sweat (I have a problem😅).

“So this is your groundbreaking technique Arman? I want my money back.”

You missed the fine print on the ad. “Sorry no refunds. All sales are final.”

The key to making any habit stick is to make it so easy to begin that you don’t talk yourself out of it beforehand.

Think about it, if you’ve never successfully meditated before, do you really think you can do a thirty minute session your first time? Or twenty minutes? Or ten minutes? No. You may try it once and realize how much it sucked then run away faster than a cheetah chasing down dinner on the savanna🐆.

It’s the same for any habit you know is good for you. Exercising, reading, writing, or anything else you know you should be doing. If you haven’t been inside a gym since elementary school P.E. class, what makes you think you can go to LA Fitness for an hour and run on the treadmill, lift weights, swim, play basketball, and get out alive? You can’t. 

You have to make that first visit as harmless as possible. So harmless that it seems foolish. Literally go to the gym and exercise for one minute. Then leave. Come back tomorrow and exercise for two minutes. Then leave. Come back the next day and exercise for three minutes. Then leave. And so on.

Back to our meditation example.

Increase your meditation time by one minute each day. Continue this process for 21 days. By the 21st day you will be meditating for…you guessed it, 21 minutes. Boom. You are officially a meditator.

Simple and easy. Never underestimate the power of simplicity. Don’t you wish someone told you this secret sooner?

I have used this exact method to become a daily meditator, gym rat, writer, and reader. Using the same Blackjack Technique I just described. Why do I call it that? Because of the 21 reference. I’ve found that to be the sweet spot that’s short enough to be approachable and long enough to be effective.

You can do anything for 21 minutes. Just not right away.

“Why stop at 21 minutes?”

You will have a good feel of whether or not you want to keep this new habit. If you do, then by all means, please continue to increase one minute per day up to 1440 minutes because that’s an entire day.

Pro tip: the only habit worth doing 1440 minutes per day is reading my substack.

So if you aren’t already subscribed, now’s your chance.

So that’s my 21-minute obsession in a nutshell. I hope The Blackjack Technique is a clever way for you to remember this.

Starting tomorrow, what area of your life are you going to apply this to? I’ll give you the day to think it over.

Hit reply and let me know. I would love to be your accountability partner. For the first 21 people to respond, I’ll check in with you each day for the next 21 days to keep you on your game. For free. Limited time offer.

Start The Blackjack Technique today if you found it useful.

I have a funny feeling you’ll start becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be.