“Procrastination is a thief of time.” ― Charles Dickens
Procrastination is always a battle for me.
Of course, I’m not alone in my struggle. Studies report that 80%-95% of us struggle with procrastination at some point in our lives.
At its heart, procrastination is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions.
Fuschia Sirois sums up the problem best, “On its surface, procrastination is an irrational behavior. Why would somebody put something off to the last minute, and then they’re stressed out of their mind, and they end up doing a poor job or less than optimal job on it? And then they feel bad about it afterward, and it may even have implications for other people.”
And yet apparently, almost all of us struggle with it from time to time.
There are different reasons that we procrastinate, so a proper conversation would include different tools and ideas to help us overcome it.
In fact, here’s a short list of available ideas online:
- Focus on your “why.”
- List out the costs of your procrastination.
- Reward yourself.
- Segment the task.
- Create a support system.
- Plan your day each day
Those are all good ideas—helpful for someone for sure. And if procrastination is sabotaging your life to a noticeable degree, I’d encourage you to read those articles above more in-depth. Many of them discuss procrastination on a deeper psychological level than I can.
But for me, I have found one simple tool to be more effective than any other in beating procrastination. Especially when I know it is keeping me from working on a task:
I call it “The 2-Minute Rule.”
Simply put, when I find myself procrastinating a big task, I tell myself, “I am just going to work on this project for two minutes.”
Then I stand up, walk over to the place where the project is waiting, and commit to two minutes of work.
I don’t set a timer on my phone or microwave to mark out the two minutes, but I do mentally commit myself to just two minutes of work. That’s all: just two minutes.
Many of the ideas online to overcome procrastination encourage “segmenting a task into smaller steps” and this is certainly a form of that idea. But the focus here is not on completing a task—however small it might be. The focus is on a specific time commitment of “two minutes,” which is mentally manageable no matter how much I dread the task.
For me, getting started is the greatest battle. And once I begin the task, I almost always end up spending more time than the two minutes—usually completing the entire task or a significant portion of it.
In fact, I can’t think of a single example where I stopped after only two minutes. The mental exercise provided just the spark I needed to get started.
I’ve used this simple rule repeatedly at both work and home:
- Writing an article
- Answering emails
- Editing a book
- Cleaning the kitchen
- Working out
- Doing yard work
- Even making a phone call I was dreading
No doubt there are countless ideas to help overcome procrastination. If it is a chronic obstacle for you, I encourage you to read more about why it is happening.
But for starters, test out the 2-minute rule. It works for me every time.
At the very least, give it a try for 2 minutes.
Kristy Leavitt says
Thank you for this suggestion, Joshua! I struggle with procrastination, too. I’m going to use this 2-minute rule! Thank you!!
Jane says
One of my favourite sayings is: a job started is a job half done.
CM says
I love your minimalist approaches to solving a problem. And procrastination is a biggy for me.
Thank you
Diane B says
Procrastination is like the pulling force of gravity. Josh, you are my favorite. You have simple common sense applications. I apply the 15 minutes kitchen/ 15 minutes read and circle repeat until done. But I LOVE this 2 minute rule for when I am really fighting it! 2 minutes is like not doing anything! For my ultimate lazy or procrastinating moments … Keep it comin’!!!
Judy brown says
I try to do this. I use 15 minutes, though. Because you can do anything for 15 minutes. ?. I have stopped at 15, but do find myself doing it longer.
Anita says
I do something similar. Last summer, on a whim I timed myself emptying the dishwasher. It literally took 2 minutes and a few seconds. I’ve used that knowledge since to help me tackle things in this way. It really does work. If I put something in the microwave, I do something else that needs to be done during that time. It’s not a strict concept, but it helps by making it obvious how quickly some things can actually be done. And it spills over into tackling other things that I don’t feel motivated to do!
Belina Villanueva says
Inspiring. I was about to procrastinate until I read your article on the 2 minute Rule. ??
Diane B says
Yes! I do the same! It’s a beautiful thing! ?
Matt W. says
Give me sec…
I’m a huge procrastinator. I needed this today.
Sammy says
:0) I can totally relate Matt. Well, first the stats Joshua gave to support that ugly feeling that “you are not alone” procrastinating is a relief. Now speaking from a retired teacher in elementary school and after school for my kids. 2 minutes is an extremely long wait (for 2-5 graders) and doesn’t guarantee a quite understanding of what and that should get done since the clock/timer is their main attention to. My take on this, is usually I give them a 2 sec. start up, and that doesn’t feel like a rush at all to my kids!
Ellen Clason says
Great article on procrastination! Thanks. I’m going to give it a try.
Eve says
This is just what I do only I call it baby steps. If I need to purge my closet then I just commit to trying on like four blouses to see if they fit or should go. Like you I will end up doing a lot more than that. I remember that old saying, a journey of a hundred mikes begins with one step. (I know I shouldn’t need to purge but I’m a recovering fashionista. LOL)
Sammy says
Love this so much Eve. Have a great time with it, always.
Joni Sanbofn says
Wonderful Eve…. I’m encouraging by your statement – your WHY you head to the closet with a mindful intention WITH boundaries! Brilliant!! Much success to you 💜
SJ says
This article came at the perfect time. I’ll try this 2-minute method out!