When a new year starts, usually people tend to write down their list of habits they want to achieve at the end of the year. You might be one of many who created the list and as the time goes by, 2023 is only two months away! Most of the people who make new year’s resolutions must have been excited in executing the habits throughout the first quarter of the year. Now the question is: have you achieved your list of habits that you have written at the beginning of 2022? if you haven't, do not worry! 

Rather than having passionate feelings for the short term, it is better to make your habits as easy as possible to start. There is no such thing as success overnight, therefore having a tiny improvement each day can have an astounding outcome for long-term progress. Therefore, through Two Minutes Rules, it helps you to stop procrastinating and stick to good habits at the same time. It’s a simple act, but by doing it in the same way and habitualizes it, which makes it repeatable and easy to do. Habits are automatic choices that influence conscious decisions that follow.

In line with its name, Two Minute Rules is a simple rule by which starting a new habit should never take more than 2 minutes to do. This strategy was inspired by David Allen, an author and productivity consultant. According to him, a new habit should not feel like a challenge. The action that follows can be challenging indeed, but the first two minutes should be easy. 

You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two minute version: 

• “Read before bed each night” becomes “read one page” which at the end of the year, you’ll be developing a habit of reading books.
• “Study for class” becomes “open my notes” 
• “Fold the laundry” becomes “fold one pair of socks”

This is where the idea of creating the habits itself is as easy as possible to start. The strategy is effective because once you start doing the activity, it becomes much easier to continue doing it. And also, it’s better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all. 

People often think it’s weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute. But the point is not to do one thing, but to master the habit of showing up. A habit must be established before it can be improved. If you are not capable of learning the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. 

The two-minute rule reinforces the identity you want to build. We rarely think about change this way because everyone is too focused on the end goal. It is way better to do less than to do nothing at all. 

Whenever you are struggling to stick with a habit, you can employ the Two-Minute Rule. Always remember that habits can be completed in a few seconds but will continue to impact your behavior for minutes or hours afterward.