Two-Minute-Tuesday: The 2 Minute Rule
TMT #1
Hi there!
You may be confused, thinking: “Wait, it’s not Friday. What is Rob doing in my inbox already?”
Based on feedback, I’m trying something different from this week. Rather than share a long letter covering multiple topics each Friday, I’m splitting things up a bit. Each Tuesday, I’ll share a mini-post digestible within 2 minutes and reserve Fridays for slightly longer pieces dedicated mostly to one idea or topic.
I hope this new format works for you. As always, I love to hear your thoughts. So on to the first Two-Minute Tuesday (TMT).
The 2 Minute Rule
Paying bills, booking appointments and filling in forms. Administrative tasks like these crush my soul. I hate them and usually park them until they become urgent and hence a problem, thus compounding the agony. However, I find that thinking about these tasks is usually worse than doing them. Kinda like ripping off a band-aid. Blink, and it’s over. The most useful tip I’ve received to help lessen the burden and anxiety that comes with an admin to-do list that looks like a film’s end credits, is the 2-minute rule from David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
If you have to do something anyway and it can be done in two minutes or less, do it now.
You’ll be surprised how many things can get done in 2 minutes. By doing something straight away, you also cut the extra few minutes (in my case, often hours) spent agonizing and planning for an item that should have taken only 2 minutes in the first place.
If you’re not in the mood for productivity today and would rather procrastinate, then I highly recommend Tim Urban’s hilarious article, Why Procrastinators Procrastinate.
See you on Friday.