The Five-Minute Rule

I experience first-hand, all too often, that coaches can't always coach themselves. Which I frankly find quite frustrating and annoying. But at least my passion for self-development, productivity and psychology came in handy…

Recently, I found myself in a procrastination loop. An all-too-familiar but certainly not missed habit of mine…

I feel overwhelmed or exhausted by a task I haven't even started yet. I do all the things I can think of, short of cleaning my bathroom tiles with a toothbrush, to get a sense of busyness and accomplishment.

Which I'd say is short-lived, but it's not even that, because in the back of my mind the actual task seems to become less manageable by the minute.

Now add a growing sense of urgency to the mix, and we're just waiting for the negative self-talk to kick in…

But then I remembered… something I'd come across about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Sounds fancy, right? But it really is quite simple.

The five-minute rule.

Start the task for five minutes. Commit to five minutes. And truly allow yourself to quit after five minutes.

Only, once you've started, more often than not you'll find yourself continuing beyond those five minutes. Your action creates motivation.

Getting started is often the biggest hurdle. Not a lack of productivity tools, motivation or skill, but a mental barrier that has an unpleasant tendency to spiral. And sometimes, all it takes to overcome it is doing the thing for five minutes.

And it works… as this piece of writing proves 😊