Use the Two-Minute Rule to Stop Procrastinating.
For the past few months, I’ve felt overwhelmed by all the changes happening in my life and what I need to do because of them and for them. I’ve been helping my partner with administrative matters as he launched a new business, managing my own professional expansion, studying for a certification exam, overseeing renovations to my apartment, and restructuring my finances, all while maintaining my regular work and responsibilities. For a while, I’ve been waking up tired before the day even starts, even though most of these tasks boil down to endless, tedious, yet small tasks like “send email,” “call back,” “confirm account number,” and “choose paint color.” I’m convinced it’s these small tasks that cause burnout.
If I did something big every day, and did something that felt big, I wouldn’t procrastinate so much. Well, as much as I procrastinated . I started using my good old “two-minute rule,” and the procrastination I was struggling with a few weeks ago quickly disappeared. I’m sure you’re busy and overwhelmed too, so here’s how this simple rule works and how it can help you when you feel like you have so much to do that you just can’t get anything done.
What is the two-minute rule?
The two-minute rule comes from David Allen, author of Getting Things Done . The idea is simple: if something can be done in two minutes, just do it. Don’t overthink it. Don’t consider whether it’s more important than the more challenging exercises you have to do. If the task takes two minutes or less, just do it right now .
Getting tasks done early prevents them from growing into larger projects that take longer than two minutes. For example, washing the dishes after one meal takes less than two minutes. If you let them pile up every time you eat, they’ll take longer, and you’ll be more likely to procrastinate, knowing it’ll be a waste of time.
Eliminating a few small tasks from your to-do list creates momentum: by completing several small tasks, you’ll likely feel more ready for deeper work. This method is similar to the idea of ”eating the frog,” though there are significant differences. When practicing ” eating the frog ,” you eliminate the most important task first; with the two-minute rule, you do the opposite. The choice depends on the type of your work and your personal preferences, but both options create a sense of accomplishment that can help you tackle the remaining workload.
How to Use the Two-Minute Rule Effectively
Unlike “eating the frog,” the two-minute rule doesn’t imply completing a task immediately after waking up. Rather, it encourages you to tackle any simple task as soon as it occurs to you. Think about the things that make you procrastinate on a typical day. For me, it’s responding to emails: I see them coming, but I don’t respond right away, even if it takes a few seconds. Eventually, I have to respond, but with the added burden of regret for not responding in a timely manner, on top of the fact that I have to address what the original email was about. In the worst-case scenario, the event or need addressed in the original email also evolves because I didn’t take care of it right away. Then I have to deal with a situation that’s worse or more urgent than when the email arrived.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been regularly checking my emails for two minutes, and it’s helped me in many ways. First, I feel better and less burdened when I reply, “Thank you, I got this. I’ll check it and get back to you.” Even just acknowledging receipt is progress. Second, it’s freed people from having to send follow-up messages or attempting to do something without my approval or involvement, perhaps in a way I don’t like or that doesn’t further my goals.
Of course, this isn’t just about emails; it’s just an example of the small tasks that slow me down. Regardless, I think it’s worth stretching the “two-minute” idea a bit, but not too much. For example, if the tank is at 25%, it’ll take more than two minutes to fill it up, but it’s still a small, quick task that needs to be completed.
Another benefit is that you stop worrying about everything and wasting a ton of time. The other day, I needed to choose a wallpaper color, and I kept procrastinating, demonstrating Parkinson’s Law , which states, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” I applied the two-minute rule, made a firm decision without hesitation, and the next day I got the wallpaper. Now everything is ready, and I can move on to other things.