I've been using the 2-minute rule a lot recently. It's helped me to build momentum and consistency in various aspects of my life.

If you procrastinate and put things off, you're not alone. I've been procrastinating A LOT recently.

Then two things happened:

1. I signed up for James Clear's 30 days to building a new habit course, based on extracts from his Atomic Habits book, in January

2. I read David Allen's Getting Things Done book in February

Both books encourage using the 2-minute rule to start and get shit done.

Why is that?

The 2-minute rule creates action and moves you forward.

It stops you from procrastinating, delaying, or putting things off and instead, generates forward momentum.

The 2-minute rule encourages you to just start that thing you've been avoiding and then see what happens.

It's as simple as that.

Here's how you can start applying the 2-minute in your life:

Starting a new habit or project

Whatever habit or project you're looking to start can be condensed into a 2-minute version.

"Going to the gym" becomes "Putting on gym gear"

"Posting a blog post" becomes "Opening laptop"

The first two minutes of a new habit or project should be easy and create a gateway that gets you moving towards your ultimate goal of starting and completing that new habit or project.

Completing a task

When you look at your to-do list, you already know the small tasks that can be completed in 2-minutes or less. Complete those tasks there and then, rather than putting them off until later.

David Allen call's this the efficiency factor - Something that takes less than two minutes to do now but takes longer than two minutes to look at again and complete later.

Final Thought

Use the 2-minute rule as a tool to start taking action.

Action creates momentum.

Momentum creates results.