Two Minutes

Having written about the power of 15 Minutes in ASU#193 and ASU #291, and explored the Pomodoro Technique in ASU #302, which harnesses the power of 20 minutes, how could we not be intrigued when we came across an article that unpacks the idea of a 2-Minute Rule?!

We first introduced you to James Clear’s work in ASU #327 when we delved into the difference between motion and action. Well, it turns out his two-minute rule may just be the perfect way to move from planning and strategizing to delivering an actual outcome!

The two-minute rule states that ‘When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.’

James believes that almost any habit can be broken down into a ‘Gateway Habit’, a scaled down, two-minute version. For instance, ‘fold the laundry’ becomes ‘fold one pair of socks’ and ‘read before bed’ becomes ‘read one page’.

The idea is to make a habit as easy as possible to start as the gateway habit you establish will naturally lead you down a more productive path. So, instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit, it’s more important to do something on a consistent basis.

The idea is that the first two minutes becomes a ritual at the beginning of a larger routine, as once you ritualise the beginning of a process, you are then more likely to slip into a state of deep focus that is required to do amazing things. Once a habit has been established, then it can be improved.

Perhaps then, when our work with needle and thread feels more like an ‘opportunity for growth’ rather than an ‘opportunity for pleasure’, our gateway habit is simply to thread our needle, lay a stitch or two, then stop?

If we can do these simple steps on a consistent basis, James believes that they will make it easier for us to get into the sometimes-hard work of creating.

Do you have a gateway habit with needle and thread? Something simple that once you’ve completed it, makes laying the following stitches seem so much easier?

We’d love you to email us and let us know about it because, if we’re honest, when faced with ‘an opportunity for growth’ sometimes we need all the help we can muster to get started so we can stay started!