Simple, yet potent, Two Minute Rule is a technique which is effective in avoiding procrastination and letting the small things in work and life add up. Following this rule can spring oneself into action, completing tasks quickly instead of leaving them forever undone.
The basic premise of the Two Minute Rule is very simple and clear:
“If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it’s defined.”
The gist of the rule is that if something will take two minutes or less to complete, you should just do it. Don’t think about it, don’t add it to your to-do list, don’t put it off for later. Knock it out. The rationale for the two-minute rule is that it’s more or less the point where it starts taking longer to store and track an item than to deal with it the first time it’s in your hands—in other words, it’s the efficiency cutoff.
This rule is very useful to knock out those small tasks which can be otherwise neglected in a hectic routine. However missing these small tasks can cast large effects on productivity. It also needs to be considered that when these small tasks are immediately completed, they take lesser time, especially when it is linked to the ongoing task. On the contrary, coming bck to the same task again may take more time for initiation and setting up for the task.
A corollary of this rule is to use the Two Minute Rule to develop new habits. When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do. For developing new habits, you can scale it down into a Two Minute task. For instance, to start reading habit, you can start with reading one page. Similarly, in order to develop habit for Yoga session, you can start with a two minute breathing exercise.
The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. Anyone can meditate for one minute or read one page. Once you’ve started doing the right thing, it is much easier to continue doing it. A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a “gateway habit” that naturally leads you down a more productive path.
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