How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the "2-Minute Rule"
If you want to start something new like studying or exercising, but keep procrastinating, here's a technique that helped me stop my procrastination in less than 2 minutes.
It’s called the 2-minute rule.
What is the 2-minute rule?
This technique comes from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.
The key is to break down any habit you want to start into smaller, easier tasks that can be completed in just 2 minutes or less.
This approach is effective because it makes the task less intimidating and more manageable.
As James Clear puts it,
"It's rarely doing the work that is hard, it's starting the work.
Once you begin, it’s often less painful to continue working.”
This is why we often continue watching a movie, even if it's bad, once we start watching it.
Or why we continue scrolling on Instagram for several hours once we start using our phones and opening the app.
And it's also why it’s much easier to continue studying after we start opening our books or sitting at our study tables.
So, if you're trying to break a bad study habit or build a new one, try to make the start of the habit as easy as possible.
How do you use the 2-minute rule?
To start new study or exercise habits, you can use the "2-minute rule" by scaling down or creating 2-minute versions of the habits you want to establish.
For example, instead of saying that you want to "start going for a run every morning upon waking up," break it down to its 2-minute version: "Put on my running shoes.”
To make your goal of "study for an exam next week" more achievable, try breaking it down into “Read 1 page of the lecture handout."
And "avoid study distractions" then becomes "Turn on Do Not Disturb mode on my phone.”
As you can see these things are easy to do and can be done in 2 minutes or less.
If you do this, 2 things that can happen:
First, you may find that you've already done the most difficult part, and the momentum you've gained from completing the 2-minute version will carry you forward to continue the task, which is the ultimate goal of this exercise.
But second, after doing the 2-minute version, you still may not feel like continuing with the task, causing you to stop completely.
This is OK. You can stop.
But, at least you showed up to the start of the habit.
And the more you do this, the more you’ll think to yourself, “Well, I’ve already finished reading this 1 page of the book, I might as well continue reading a little longer.”
And this feeds into the identity that we would want to create for ourselves.
Because as James Clear says,
“The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become.”
So instead of simply wanting to increase your test scores or lose weight, focus instead on becoming the type of person who doesn't fail to study for 4 hours every night or who doesn't miss an early-morning run.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash