How to increase your productivity with the Two-Minute Rule.

What can you get done in two minutes? 

I bet if you timed yourself, you would be surprised by how much you could accomplish in those two short minutes. You have probably heard of the Two-Minute Rule touted in productivity or habit-building discussions, but let’s take a look at what it is, and how it can help you!

What is the Two-Minute Rule? 

The Two-Minute Rule was first introduced to the world in the great time management book Getting Things Done by David Allen. He introduces the idea as: 

“If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it’s defined.”

Ok, but what does that really mean to me? Well, David is saying that if you identify something that needs to be done, and it can be done in two minutes or less, then you should just take the moment to do it right now. 

We will go into further detail later, but here are a couple of simple examples of putting this into action:

• You are in your bathroom and keep knocking over products on the counter. You notice how cluttered the counter is, and it would take less than two minutes to put those bottles away. Take the two minutes to put them away under your sink and in drawers so you can enjoy a clean counter and prevent knocking something to the floor and having it break. 
• You are walking through the living room and a mess catches your eye on the couch. It is a couple of shirts and sweatshirts that came in dirty from the car and ended up on the couch. Grab them and drop them into the laundry basket. 
• Someone emails asking you to meet them on Friday night for drinks. You have had a heck of a week so far and all you want to do on Friday is curl up with your couch and a TV show. Rather than stew about saying yes, just reply to their email now. Now you don’t have to keep staring at the email and try to remember to email them later. 

By taking care of these small things as they are noticed, you are saving yourself the difficulty of having this task or item nagging you in the back of your mind.  Picking up one thing is not going to magically make your living room clean (I wish!). But, it will remove that one item that bugs you every time you see it. That frees up a little slice of brainpower to be used on something worthwhile. 

Often, the tasks we are avoiding are just an accumulation of a bunch of two-minute tasks. 

Do things from other rooms accumulate in your living room? A two-minute run through the house nightly before you go to bed will prevent a 30-minute pre-cleaning the next time you clean your living room. 

But, if I do these things I notice, won’t I just be running around like a chicken with my head cut off all of the time? 

Possibly. My spirit animal is the squirrel dog from Up, so I feel you.  

I combat this in two ways. First, asking myself if the task is in line with what I am doing right now? 

From the examples above, I was walking through the house anyway, so it may take me a few extra steps to walk to the hamper, but it is in the direction I am heading anyway. If I was heading out the door to meet friends, I wouldn’t have taken the clothes to the hamper because it was in the opposite direction. 

Second, is evaluating if doing this two-minute task will distract me from my “most important” duty right now? 

If you are in your bathroom to grab a hair tie as you are leaving to pick up the kids from practice, then stopping, even for two minutes, will make you late to pick up the kids. Picking up the kids is your most important task at that moment. Putting away your bathroom products would be a better task for when you are in the bathroom getting ready for the morning or ending your evening before going to bed. 

This tool is best utilized when you are in transition or have a waiting period between two other tasks.

This is not to be used when you are doing deep-focused work.

It is perfect for those few minutes between meetings, downtime at night, moving between two chores, waiting to pick someone up, or before starting your next period of deep, focused work. 

How do you get started?

Well, often these are tasks of opportunity. So pay attention to what you notice when you are moving around your house or at work. Taking a moment to walk through your house before bed or in the morning, will probably bring some of these two-minute tasks to mind. 

What are some common tasks to do?

Below are 10 of the most common two-minute tasks I find myself doing during most weeks. Read through those and then come up with some of the ones that are personally important for you. 

1. Empty the dishwasher
2. Make my bed (more like pulling up the sheets and comforter, because my floral comforter makes me happy!)
3. Tidy up the bathroom counter
4. Bring clutter to the proper room in one or two trips
5. Draft a quick answer to the email I just read
6. Wipe off the countertops in either the kitchen or bathroom (not both, that would be longer than two minutes!)
7. Bring the kitchen trash out to the big trash can
8. Put away the hand-washed dishes
9. Set up an appointment (dr, dentist, oil change, etc) that has been on my mind
10. Straighten the pillows and blankets on the couch and chairs in the living room. 

What are some that you can use in your life? I find that tidying up or removing clutter are the ones that make the biggest impact in my life. Having my living area tidy and clutter-free is a form of self-care for me, so those are the ones I tend to do most often.  Make a list of your top ten so they can be at the forefront of your mind during the day. 

This isn’t a magic trick to suddenly have a clean organized home or always be on top of work tasks. It is just a small tool that can help you make small improvements in time that would otherwise be unproductive.  

Other uses for the Two-Minute Rule

I also have found this two-minute trick to help inspire me when I am avoiding doing a larger task. By getting myself started with a couple of small tasks, I can get that accomplished feeling which will motivate me to tackle the larger task. 

A common example in my life is cleaning the kitchen. Not my favorite chore! But if I start with a couple of two-minute tasks, like empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, and put away countertop clutter, suddenly I just start doing the other tasks needed and walk away with a sparkling kitchen. 

So, what are you going to do with your newfound love of the two-minute rule? How can you see this helping you in various areas of life? I have found I naturally use it most often for house chores and for work tasks. 

Sometimes, procrastination keeps you from doing what is needed. By utilizing the two-minute rule, you can help keep things tidy and jumpstart getting things done. It is a win-win! How do you see yourself using the two-minute rule in your life? Share in the comments below or over on our Instagram post!