2 Minute Rule

Procrastination happens when there is a huge task in front of you, and you do not feel like there is enough energy to do it. Whether it is going to the gym, writing an article, or resolving a complex bug, all of these tasks are difficult in their totality, but not too difficult if broken down into smaller components.

The 2-minute rule hack is to chunk tasks into 2 minutes. For example, instead of going to the gym, the 2-minute rule would say to put on gym clothes and get to the gym. That doesn't sound so bad. It's a nice brain hack because by the time you are done with this 2-minute task and you are already at the gym, the next easiest thing is to do some exercises.

I apply this rule to plenty of things that I hate to do. I hate writing - whether it's documents, blog posts, or feedback. I used to chronically procrastinate doing these things (TBH, I still do a bit). The only hack that has worked is the 2-minute rule. I tell myself that I'll only write the first 2 sentences. And more often than not, by the time I've written the first couple of sentences, I just keep going, and I end up making pretty good progress in the 15 minutes that follow.