The 15-minute rule
“Try hard not to try so hard”
I’ve seen variations of this trick explained elsewhere, so I can’t claim credit for inventing it. But after practicing this myself with great success, I find it worthwhile to re-emphasize here for those who are looking for a jump-start.
There are things you want to get done. Important things, worth doing. But you just don’t have the energy or the discipline to get started. And the hardest part of any task or initiative is starting - this is well-known.
When you are at the gym and in the middle of a workout, you’re not thinking about how much it sucks. You’re too busy doing the work, focused on the moves and riding the momentum you generated once you got started. And after the workout is done - it’s a high way better than any drug. You did it!
When you are writing and in flow state, there’s no more dread or hesitation around sitting down to write. You’re in it, exploring your mind and transposing what you imagine into the right words. And after a productive writing session - you’re enthralled that your ideas have more life than ever before.
When you are cleaning the house, or even at a job you hate getting a specific task done - the thoughts and feelings that categorized these chores and tasks as dreadful and full of suck are no longer there. You are in it, getting it done and in anticipation for the reward of being done (along with any other rewards you may have lined up for yourself for after).
It is never the work itself that presses down on you, causing hesitation and procrastination. It is starting the work. The brief moment where you decide you are going to do something that you know you should do. That’s the hard part that makes your to-dos seem too daunting, intimidating and downright scary. The start.
The best practical way I found to sidestep these paralyzing thoughts is to use the 15-minute rule. It is a mental compromise, a way to trick yourself into starting something. Again, once you start, the hard part is over. The fear and intimidation is gone because now you must focus on the task at-hand.
If there’s something you should get done, make a deal with yourself - a compromise to just do 15 minutes worth of the job. You can even set a timer.
15 minutes is nothing. At the same time, you can get a lot done in that time.
For example in the case of working out, set a 15-minute timer and switch between push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. So, do push-ups until you can’t do anymore, then switch to sit-ups until you can’t do anymore, then squats, then back to push-ups and so on. You will be absolutely spent by the time that timer goes off. Then you’re done, and only 15 minutes of your day was spent.
Same for cleaning - take 15 minutes and just focus on a certain room or area of the house. Same for writing - write a page or a few paragraphs. You get the idea.
The real trick to this is the fact that 9 times out of 10, you will willingly go past the 15-minute mark without even noticing. Even if the timer goes off, I bet you’ll hit the snooze and resume what you were doing. If you do stop after 15, that’s ok too. But in either case you:
Accomplished something that is 15-minutes (at least) more done than the 0 minutes you almost gave into
Will get a real nice dopamine/endorphin hit that is way more potent and euphoric than whatever you were going to do instead
Will be practicing how to breach the starting of something - the hardest part of doing most things - more consistently
Will be teaching yourself how to operate more efficiently
Try it. Let me know how it goes. Did you go past 15 minutes?
Love to all -
Drew
Related Poetry
Get to work
From Fire & Earth: A ThoughPose Poetry Collection | 2/20/2020
Traded tricks, fixated
Made this, if/then branch sticks -
Yet better than bricks,
Instead of mixed, faded,
Complacent, “sick day, stayed since”,
Lament blame stints,
Say it’s a labor of “trading nicks”,
Favorite lately:
“Been taking daily licks”
Laziness, faked upticks
Played victim, gravely mistaken
“This sucks” schticks…
Exited - stuck. Strayed for kicks
Then affixed.
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