The 5-Minute Rule: Jumpstart Your Tasks with Minimal Commitment

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." – Mark Twain

Procrastination is a real problem in the modern era since we all suffer from it time and time again. The idea of pushing things away just so we delve into the comfort we have today might sound great, but it also means it’s a lot harder to achieve goals and reach the success you want. That’s where the 5-minute rule comes into play, and it can be a great idea to try out.

What does the 5-minute rule entail?

The idea behind the 5-minute rule is that whenever a task feels overwhelming or hard to achieve, you start working on it for 5 minutes. Then, if it’s all good, you will continue with that task. Believe it or not, the 5-minute rule works very well because once you start working on the task at hand, that momentum carries you forward, and you won’t stop anytime soon.

For a lot of people, this approach works extremely well. Most of us have tasks or goals that we push away often, such as establishing a workout routine, reading a few pages from a book on a daily basis, or maybe just studying a new language. Simply by allocating 5 minutes to that task, which seems impossible, you’re already getting past the procrastination point. And as we said, once you start, you won’t feel that something is blocking you anymore.

How can you start using the 5-minute rule?

Ideally, you want to have an alarm clock, something similar to Spiralist’s Pomodoro timer so you can track those 5 minutes. Go to your desk, start the timer, and then approach your work with an open mind. At the end of those 5 minutes, you can decide if the work was overwhelming, if you need a break, or if you’re going to continue. Most of the time, people continue and they also feel a sense of progress. Plus, they get to surpass any procrastination while getting one step closer to their goals.

You can start using this rule at any time. In fact, you may want to try it when you’ve seemingly nothing to do. If that’s the case, set the timer and start working on that thing you’ve been postponing for months. For example, if you’re a digital nomad looking to build your professional network, spend 5 minutes reaching out to a new contact on LinkedIn or engaging in an online community. Similarly, if you’re a solopreneur aiming to boost your online presence, dedicate 5 minutes to brainstorming content ideas for your blog or social media channels. That will offer a sense of progress.

And yes, you can also use this approach for personal projects as well as work-related projects. That’s the beauty of the 5-minute rule: it gives us the kickstart we need, and then it motivates us to keep going. It might seem hard to implement at first, but it all comes down to getting started. Once you do that, everything will flow, and the entire process will be much easier than you expected!

To dive deeper into this topic, be sure to check out this blog post: Beat Procrastination with the 5-Minute Rule: Your Secret Weapon for Getting Started