120 Seconds
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
i’m a procrastinator
always have been i put off tasks that
aren’t even that difficult but feel
almost impossible to start
for example homework every night it
feels like the tallest mountain i have
to climb and the biggest struggle is
simply starting it
usually i start way too late which
stresses me out and ruins a good night
of sleep
sometimes even the smallest tasks like
picking up my
clothes taking out the trash or
unloading the dishwasher
seemed almost intimidating i piled these
on at the end of the night as well
i could have done them earlier much
easier but no
like i said i’m a procrastinator i was
stuck in a never-ending cycle
until i learned about the two-minute
rule coined by david allen a
productivity consultant
the two-minute rule is a concept that
encourages people to spend two minutes
working on the tasks they often put off
if you’re trying to get something done
do it for two minutes no matter what it
is
folding your laundry studying for your
biology test
changing that one light bulb in the
hallway that always seems to be out
set aside 120 seconds just for that task
some tasks may only take two minutes and
if it does go ahead and get it done
but most will take a little longer while
you might not get it all done in that
time it’s the key to getting yourself to
start
and before you know it you’ll have
finished whatever it was hanging over
your head
telling yourself you only do something
for two minutes takes the stress off of
finishing it and you’ll feel less
reluctant to start in the first place
it allows us to switch our focus on
starting so chances are
even after those two minutes are over
you’ll find it a lot easier to just keep
going
the two-minute rule isn’t about trying
to get everything done in two minutes
it’s about inviting yourself to start
the tasks you often put off
and then after those two minutes are
over giving yourself the chance to stop
but you’ll find just by doing it for
that small amount of time
a lot of what made you put it off in the
first place disappears
think about how you can apply this
concept to your life many people want to
work out or exercise more
but often fail to start because of the
overwhelming amount of work ahead of
them
what if we tossed out all that noise and
just focused on two minutes
let’s say you want to start running
every day because it’s a difficult task
you might struggle staying motivated to
keep up a routine
and skipping out on a run once turns
into twice
turns into three times until eventually
you stop
if you want to find something that works
run for two minutes
it sounds crazy because it’s so easy but
that’s the point
after those two minutes are over it’s
your choice to either keep going
or stop but by doing this you’ve made it
incredibly easy to do every day
forming a habit to go on a run even if
it’s for only two minutes
eventually you’ll be able to go for a
lot longer
i started applying this concept to my
life and it’s crazy how much more
productive i’ve been
for example i’ve always struggled
finding motivation to start my homework
i started setting a timer for two
minutes of uninterrupted work i didn’t
get it all done in that time
but once the timer went off i found it
was a lot easy to just keep going
i found that once i forced myself to
start working even if it was for such a
small amount of time
it gave me the boost i needed to go
ahead and finish by applying this role
to my daily life i’ve been more
productive than ever
this method is so effective because
those two minutes of focus or hard work
act as a boost of momentum to help you
complete your task
it’s so easy to start small that it
becomes easy to keep going
by applying this to your daily life you
can open up a whole new door to
productivity
it has never been easier for me to
manage my time efficiently
and check things off my to-do list this
works because
far too often we’re so focused on the
angle
so much so that we get anxious thinking
about how we’re going to get there
this causes us to distract ourselves
from the task at hand but the two-minute
rule forces you to forget about the
angle
and instead focus on the beginning this
relieves the stress of the final product
allowing you to take a deep breath
and focus on the first step starting it
i encourage you to try this take 120
seconds out of your day to do what you
need to get done
see if it helps you continue working if
it doesn’t you haven’t lost anything but
two minutes but you’ve gained
two minutes worth of that work so next
time someone asks
got a minute you can give them two
thank you