3 Ways To Get More Done With The 2-Minute Rule (Find The Eight Episode #8)

A common reason we don’t actually do the things we want to do is that it just seems so daunting or there's something else we’d rather do.

And so we put it off it and often forget about it.  

The hardest part is always starting.  

Just like if you were to try pushing a big bolder, it's way harder at the beginning. Once you’re able to get the bolder moving, you have momentum working for you and it’s not as difficult to keep acting.

If you were to set a timer and tell yourself that you just had to clean your room for 5 minutes, you’d probably be less resistant to doing it and, when the timer went off, you would probably be ok with continuing. Or at least you would likely be less resistant to acting as compared to before you got started.  

What does this have to do with sleep? To reliably sleep well, you have to be able to get things done effectively.

You have to be able to get your homework done so that you can get to sleep on time.  

You have to be consistently physically active so that you can build up enough sleep drive for good sleep.

You need to set up your environment for good sleep.  

And you may need to regularly practice things like relaxation skills to sleep well.

So here’s a few ways that you can use the 2-minute rule to get yourself to start acting.

OPTION #1: TO GET THE BALL ROLLING ON A BIG TASK

When you have assignment or another project, ask yourself the following:

“What is the very first bite sized step that I can take that will take no more than 2 minutes”.

You’ve heard me say this before in prior episodes to help you get the ball rolling on the recommendations I make.  

For example, if you wanted to set up a good sleep environment, your first bite-sized 2-minute action to get the ball rolling might be

• sending an email or text to your parent for help with setting up your room

• doing a quick search for bean bag chairs on your phone or

• be doing a quick brainstorm on a piece of paper or in your notes app on what you need to do to set up your room for sleep.

OPTION #2: WHEN SOMETHING SEEMS DAUNTING TO START

When you’ve got something you need to do that seems too daunting–like if you want to start exercising for better sleep--but you feel too awful to bring yourself to do it in the moment, tell yourself you’re only going do this activity for 2 minutes.  

If, at the 2 minute mark, you want to stop, give yourself permission to stop.

If it’s actually not so bad, keep going.

Try to start exercising with just 2 minutes a day every day but try to be consistent by doing something every day. Over time, it will become more habitual and you can stretch that time exercising to 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, and so on and so on.

Here are a couple of other ways to use this strategy to improve your sleep:

• When an active mind is keeping you awake and you're struggling to do anything about it, tell yourself you’ll capture your thoughts on paper for just 2 minutes.

• When you’ve been in bed awake for a while and know you should get out of bed but really don’t want to, tell yourself you’ll get out of bed for just 2 minutes.

OPTION #3: WHEN YOU HAVE LOTS OF TASKS  

When you’ve got a lot of stuff you need to do--like if you’re sitting down to do your homework--quickly scribble down everything that you need to do.

Then go back over your list and do the things that take 2 minutes or less.

This will give you that thrill of checking things off your list and clears your mental space to focus on the bigger tasks.

ACTION

Grab a piece of paper or open your notes on your phone and take 2 minutes to jot down a list of the things want to do to improve your sleep.

Then, you can do one of two things or both—

1. Do any of the 2-minute tasks and check them off your list. Good examples of 2-minute tasks for better sleep include setting up blue light filters on your phone, setting alarms on your phone, or texting a friend to improve your sleep together.

2. Choose the thing that you most want to get moving on and choose the first 2-minute step that you need to do to get the ball rolling.

If would like a cheatsheet to help you use the 2-minute rule, you can find it here.

SUMMARY

If you want to avoid putting things off and you want an easy, painless way to start accomplishing more of what matters to you, the 2-minute rule is one simplest but most powerful tricks you can use.

NEXT EPISODE:  

Sleep Blockers That May Be Keeping You Out Of The Zone