Sometimes the things to be done can get big in your eyes, and you even postpone those things as you put them off. As things to do continue to pile up on the table, it becomes inextricable. The “2 Minute Rule”, recommended by David Allen in such cases, provides an opportunity both to start those backlogs, albeit small, and not to pile up that much.
“If a job is going to take less than 2 minutes, it should be done as soon as the decision is made.”
The 2-minute rule is a way of taking action against things we postpone or overestimate. The main idea of this rule, which is known to invite people to take immediate action, is to make it as easy as possible to start a business.
Processing the 2 Minute Rule
The job you have to do can be a 2-minute job or a part of a big project… We can express these parts as follows:
Small Pieces: Unfortunately, the longer you delay a task, the harder it is to complete it. There are 2 options to avoid this situation. Take action right away and get the job done in 2 minutes—or less than that—or write it at the top of the to-do list.
Big Pieces: Big jobs are often the ones we don’t know where to start or how to start. Of course, it is definitely not a healthy solution to want to finish the work that can be done in a week in an hour. At this point, the 2-minute rule comes into play: Divide the work into small pieces.
Thus, starting from the smallest, it will take 2 minutes to start again from where you left off the next moment.
Advantages of the 2 Minute Rule
You Can Stop Procrastinating: You will see an increase in your to-do list by doing it right now, rather than unintentionally postponing another task.
Easy to Apply: The 2-minute rule, which is easy to apply, is not that difficult to get started as it aims to complete a task instantly.
Provides a Quick Solution: Since you can do a lot of small tasks instantly, your need to postpone things will also decrease.
What Can I Do In 2 Minutes?
- You can now reply to that message you need to reply to.
- You can water a plant.
- You can reply to pending mails, clean or organize your mailbox.
- You can take out the garbage.
- You can meditate and get fresh air.
- You can write the first sentence of an article.
- You can plan what you will eat for dinner.
Of course, unlike these daily activities, some jobs really demand much more than 2 minutes. The 2 minute rule doesn’t tell you that you can do these things in 2 minutes, it just advises you to take immediate action against the things we postponed or saved – regardless of the size of the job.
