The Five Minute Rule
Being productive is hard. Staying on top of your work and tasks is hard. With all of the little things that build up overtime, it becomes difficult to keep up with day-to-day responsibilities. But what if those little, piled up tasks tasks could be avoided?
The idea for this blog came to me when a couple days ago when I had trash in my car. I had three empty coffee cups filling up my cupholders and passenger seat. I was about to go inside my apartment and leave them there, leaving the problem for the next day, but then it came to me- the five minute rule.
The Five Minute Rule
There are two ways that the five minute rule can be seen as. The first way it can be described as is if something takes you less than five minutes to do, you have to do it. This helps to avoid little tasks piling up, such as the trash in my car that I didn’t want to throw away.
I often put off things such as folding my clothes, taking out the trash, or doing the dishes, when in all reality these things take very little time. Truthfully, these things all can take less than five minutes if you keep up with it. As opposed to having to set aside an entire day out of your week to clean and “get your life together”, you can take less than five minutes, a couple times a day to maintain the lifestyle you want.
The second way that the five minute rule has been known to be interpreted is you set a goal that you would normally avoid, and simply spend five intentional minutes on it. After the five minutes are over, if the task is dreadful, you can stop. The idea of this rule is that usually after the five minutes, you realize the task isn’t that bad and you are able to find a rhythm and continue until the task is done.
Usually, starting is the hardest part of doing a task. With the five minute rule, you are forced to start something and given the option to stop after the five minutes, but it allows you to get over the uncomfortable starting point.
Using the Five Minute Rule
Regardless of if you use the five minute rule or not, it is hard to give something your undivided attention when you don’t want to even start it in the first place. To help, I made a list of things to do to limit your distractions while working.
Put your phone on the other side of the room
It is so easy to pick up your phone and spend the next 30 minutes scrolling on instagram without even noticing. Before you start your five minutes, put your phone on the other side of the room to ensure your time is intentional.
Wear headphones
Having little noises around you can be very distracting. Whether your headphones have music playing or just have noise reduction on, it will give you less things to focus on if you wear them.
Think of your future self
This is one of my favorite things to do when I am feeling unmotivated. The truth of the matter with most things is that they need to get done. If you don’t do it now, you will be doing it later. Imagine your future self being able to relax and enjoy a night to herself or with friends as opposed to being forced to do the tasks you’ve been putting off. Start now.
Of course the five minute rule may not work for everyone, but I have found that it truly helps me get things done that I would otherwise put off. Whether this post inspired you to use the five minute rule, or just gave you insight on new ways to get things done, I hope you remember it the next time you don’t want to throw away that coffee cup or work on that paper. Do it now, your future self will thank you.
