The rule:

  • I tell myself “Do this work for only two minutes and then if you don’t feel like it, it’s too stressful, just give up!”.

Why the JUST TWO MINUTES rule works for me SOMETIMES:

  1. Helps start the work:
  • It’s easier to convince myself to start on something, if it’s for just two minutes.
  1. Gets SOME work done:
  • Even if all you did in those two minutes was read the problem statement, you have made far more progress than doing NOTHING - which plays into NON-ZERO DAYS.
  1. Kickstarts more work:
  • Sometimes those two minutes can help you kickstart a whole session of executive functioning. It might make me look at a problem which I was too stressed to even look at, but which later turns out to be actually quite simple.
  1. Guiltless reprieve:
  • If nothing else it at least gives me the guiltless reprieve after I am done working for those two minutes. I will pickup social media again to get the dopamine hit, but I did something! I can take a break and try again.

Notes: This is a very janky method, but it surprisingly works sometimes. It doesn’t work always - especially if my stress levels are very high or I am out of will power or physical energy.

What do you guys think?

  • Da Oeuf@slrpnk.netEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    This gave me chuckle to read because for me it works too well! If I can start something and do it for two minutes, the chances are high that I will still be there 8 hours later on a massive rager; having not eaten, finding it unbearable to stop and speak to anyone, and several sub-tasks deep in it…

  • pleasestopasking@reddthat.comEnglish
    3·
    5 days ago

    I have a corollary of this: time to get ready, drive somewhere, etc. only exists in 15 minute increments.

    If I think something is a 5 minute drive, it’s because the time I hit every single green light and there wasn’t a single car. If I tell myself I need 15 minutes then I probably end up about 5 minutes early which is so much better than constantly being late. Same for like, “all I need to go l do is put my shoes on and grab my coat so I’m going to waste time doing something into right before I have to leave.” Nope. I need 15 minutes dedicated strictly to getting ready to walk out the door. Gives me time to find my keys, change my mind about what shoes I want to wear, decide I want to fill up my water bottle before I leave, the dozen little things I always forget are part of getting out the door. It usually doesn’t take 15 minutes, so it then gives me a bit of extra cushion for traveling to whatever’s next.

    I used to be late to everything and now I’m early for everything and much less stressed.

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    12 days ago

    Sounds like a really good plan. I often find that It’s much easier to finish something I’ve started than start something I haven’t.

    Let us know how it works for you!

    • pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafeOPEnglish
      7·
      11 days ago

      I often find that It’s much easier to finish something I’ve started than start something I haven’t.

      Yeah, exactly!

      It works for me only when I don’t have a close deadline. The stress of a close deadline is just very hard to deal with. I can’t think straight enough to “just do it for two minutes”. My brain won’t allow me to work only for two minutes at that stage, it’s either do it or don’t.

      • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        11 days ago

        I’ve always been the opposite.

        I got two weeks to do it? There’s no way I can focus.

        It’s due in three hours? IT’S GO TIME!!!

  • TheTechnician27@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    12 days ago

    Seems adjacent to the two-minute (sometimes five-minute) rule, where instead of giving any given task two minutes, you commit to doing tasks ASAP that, by your estimation, will take approx. two minutes or less.

    The traditional two-minute rule says nothing about longer tasks, so this is a neat wrinkle in that.

  • Coelacanth@feddit.nuEnglish
    5·
    11 days ago

    It is a decent hack to get around inertia. I’ve done similar things too in the past, with varied success. But it does genuinely help sometimes. Actually starting something is definitely the hardest part, so anything that gets you doing that to any capacity is good.

  • [deleted]@piefed.worldEnglish
    4·
    11 days ago

    This kind of approach, trying without the dread of committing to finishing can really help with getting over decision paralysis.

    Still hard to get started sometimes, but not as hard.

  • Not a newt@piefed.caEnglish
    4·
    11 days ago

    I tend to use the pomodoro method: 30 minutes of work, 5 minute break. When I’m low on motivation, I reverse it: 5 minutes of work for a 30 minute break. The latter part approximates your 2 minute rule, so at least anecdotally I think you’re on the right path.