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Get started with 2-minute rule

hoanhan.co

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Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#31

Post by themarkn »

A question that sometimes unlocks a task for me, when I can remember is:

what’s the smallest possible thing I can do to move this in the right direction?

And somehow, thinking about the thing in those terms helps me go “OK well I’ve been putting off this bug that was reported because it touches a system I don’t understand well, BUT let’s start by just reproducing the bug.”

And at any point, really, you can either stop, or find the smallest possible thing that moves the task in the right direction.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#32

Post by jamestimmins »

ansaso wrote: post #21

If you consistently need to trick yourself into reading a page of a book there are probably deeper issues that won't be fixed by: "Eat more vegetables → Eat an apple". Hip-shot hypothesis: The productivity literature audience is overwhelmingly intelligent people with untreated ADD & ADHD.

Hah, my therapist told me about the 2-minute rule right before suggesting I get tested for ADHD.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#33

Post by DoreenMichele »

thewebcount wrote: post #30
DoreenMichele wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Click on the timestamp for the comment. It will give you additional options not visible normally, including favorite .

OK, slightly off-topic rant: I have to say that timestamp is the weirdest UI element I've run across in a long time. Nothing about it gives any indication that it does anything useful. Want to link to just the thread started by a given comment? Click the timestamp . What? Why? Oh well. Want to favorite a comment? Click the timestamp . Um, OK. That's weird. I would never think to do that and on mobile have accidentall…

As someone who originally joined more than 11 years ago, my general impression is "old timers" tend to like the arcane interface. It's part of what makes this forum brilliant.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#34

Post by alan_n »

This method is great. I use it all the time. But one of these does not feel like the others... (cough "Build a program → Code a function" cough).

All the others could be done in the day, except for the vegetable one which is too abstract. And their solution could be done in 2 minutes. The coding one on the other hand... impossible to do in a day and also writing code is imo almost impossible to write in small chunks of time. Brainstorming a feature,thinking about a problem for 2 minutes, deleting/cleaning code, or even just opening your IDE and checking where you're at and planning the next step, sure. But actual coding, would not recommend. I require at least 30m+, preferably 60m+ to get anything reasonable done.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#35

Post by reificator »

LeonB wrote: post #16
reificator wrote: post #13

This is less about the length of the task and more to do with simply identifying the first step to take. You can see that by the example of starting to run by putting on your running shoes. Advice like this frames procrastination as laziness that can be overcome by committing to less work, but that's misleading. If this helps you stop procrastinating I think it's much more likely that you're simply overwhelmed with c…

I don't think "the 2-minute rule" (originally from Dave Allen of 'Getting Things Done') or the article above frame procrastination as "laziness." It clearly about "Task Initiation" which is a problem related to "Executive Function". None of the related authors would ever frame it as being about "Laziness". That's like... the last thing Dave Allen would do. Also "identifying the next action" (which is what you're sugg…

I'm specifically talking about this article, which as far as I can tell does not credit or mention Dave Allen or 'Getting Things Done'.

In my reading, this paragraph in particular is where it sounds like a solution for laziness more than a solution for "identifying the next action":

> The idea is to make it super easy to get started. Once you pass the starting point, which is arguably the hardest step, you start to gain momentum to keep doing the task itself

I think you and I agree about the benefits of this approach, all I'm saying is that I don't want people to dismiss this advice because they think it's targeted at "lazy people".

Also the two minute rule you describe appears to be different than the two minute rule as described in the article.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#37

Post by eyelidlessness »

thewebcount wrote: post #30
DoreenMichele wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Click on the timestamp for the comment. It will give you additional options not visible normally, including favorite .

OK, slightly off-topic rant: I have to say that timestamp is the weirdest UI element I've run across in a long time. Nothing about it gives any indication that it does anything useful. Want to link to just the thread started by a given comment? Click the timestamp . What? Why? Oh well. Want to favorite a comment? Click the timestamp . Um, OK. That's weird. I would never think to do that and on mobile have accidentall…

I agree completely and this is one thing HN does like most other sites with user contributions and it’s TERRIBLE.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#38

Post by skinkestek »

ansaso wrote: post #21

If you consistently need to trick yourself into reading a page of a book there are probably deeper issues that won't be fixed by: "Eat more vegetables → Eat an apple". Hip-shot hypothesis: The productivity literature audience is overwhelmingly intelligent people with untreated ADD & ADHD.

> Hip-shot hypothesis: The productivity literature audience is overwhelmingly intelligent people with untreated ADD & ADHD.

I see your point.

Then again, one of the problems for some of those are that they start way too many thing.

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#39

Post by jachee »

SamBam wrote: post #14
rsiqueira wrote: post #6

There's a quote about this rule (get started and the job will be easier to complete): "What you can do, or dream you can, begin it, Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated, Begin it, and the work will be completed!" - Goethe

Actually by John Anster. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/02/09/boldness/

Cunningham's Law[0] in action. :)

0. https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cunningham%27s_Law

Re: Get started with 2-minute rule

#40

Post by LeonB »

reificator wrote: post #35
LeonB wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think "the 2-minute rule" (originally from Dave Allen of 'Getting Things Done') or the article above frame procrastination as "laziness." It clearly about "Task Initiation" which is a problem related to "Executive Function". None of the related authors would ever frame it as being about "Laziness". That's like... the last thing Dave Allen would do. Also "identifying the next action" (which is what you're sugg…

I'm specifically talking about this article, which as far as I can tell does not credit or mention Dave Allen or 'Getting Things Done'. In my reading, this paragraph in particular is where it sounds like a solution for laziness more than a solution for "identifying the next action": > The idea is to make it super easy to get started. Once you pass the starting point, which is arguably the hardest step, you start to g…

It credits lifehack, who credit Dave Allen. Though the ideas/details have been twisted along the way, the “2 minute rule” is straight from Dave. All credits on it lead back there. It’s not a contentious idea, the guy’s still alive. It’s his idea.
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