Are you procrastinating small tasks? Is your brain space taken up with little things that need to be done? Are you drowning in email? Use the 2-minute rule to stop procrastinating, improve your productivity, and get things done.

I came across the “2-Minute Rule” when reading Atomic Habits by James Clear.

What is the 2-Minute Rule?

The 2-Minute Rule is that if something takes 2 minutes or less to complete, you should just do it. Don’t add it to your to-do list or think about doing it later. Just do it and do it now.

This can be helpful in so many situations. Whether you have a desk yet to be tidied, some laundry yet to be started, or even a quick email response yet to be sent, these can all probably be done in 2-minutes.

Gives you Quick Wins

The 2-Minute Rule can give you quick wins throughout the day. It can also help you better utilise your time and improve your time management. For example, let’s say you have a meeting starting in five minutes. Rather than going on your phone and scrolling through social media, you can use that time to complete a couple of 2-minute tasks. For example, why not clean out your email? Why not update your notes or schedule for the day? You could even use that time to water a plant.

Accomplishing something productive, no matter how small, will make you feel motivated. We talked about this further in a blog about motivation, where the more you do, the more motivated you become.

Overcoming Procrastination and Perfectionism

If you are a perfectionist, you’ve probably noticed that procrastination is often a symptom of perfectionism. If you can’t do something perfectly, what’s the point of doing it at all?

This leads to the endless loop of the struggle to stop procrastinating and being productive. We have all been there.

You can use the 2-minute rule as a tactic to help you overcome both these tendencies. Simply taking action helps you move forward on tasks that you are avoiding. And the time limit gives you the freedom to stop trying to be perfect. It basically forces you to get things done!

Potential Pitfalls

There are some pitfalls to watch out for:

– Make sure that the 2-minute task you are completing is one of your priorities, and not someone else’s! It’s fine helping someone else out, but when you are busy yourself, try not to get dragged into someone else’s yes when you didn’t mean to.

– Ensure that whatever tasks you complete, do actually take 2-minutes or less. You may need to figure this out and then find out what tasks can be done using this method.

– Don’t let your whole day be dictated by these 2-minute tasks. These shouldn’t be your main goals in a day. Instead, they should be added to your overall goals, to help you get the most out of your time.

Overall, if you can get something done in two minutes, just do it! By making use of this rule, it will help you improve your productivity and get more things done.