The following three simple principles will give you a hand to stand up and get back to work right away.

1. Prioritize duties/ tasks that take less than two minutes to finish immediately

Do not allow yourself to get overworked due to laziness or the habit of putting off tasks until the end of the day or on the weekends. The daily routine consisting of cleaning the desk, watering plants, washing clothes, etc. could be completed in under two minutes. So get started doing them all. The purpose of this rule is to train your brain to act immediately on minor items that can be comprehended in less than 120 seconds.

2. Cut two minutes off your to-do lists

When expecting hard things to take a while, try to make them easier so they may be completed in two minutes or less. For instance, instead of studying the full periodic table, choose the ten most important elements and spend two minutes learning about them. Or, in place of a lengthy essay, you may read a paragraph or key summary.

3. Create a two-minute habit

You should get into the habit of tackling the task for two minutes before attempting to scale it up. You might be wondering, “What can I do with only two minutes?”. Here are some examples of experiences that many people have successfully implemented.

• Do you want to be a good writer? Open your notebook and write for two minutes. Begin with a sentence, and you’ll be writing for hours.
• Want to jog three times a week? Put on your shoes and head out the door every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, and you’ll be able to run a few laps instead of lying in bed.
• To improve your English listening skills, simply listen to any English file for two minutes: a TedEd talk, your favourite podcast channel, song lyrics, news bulletins, and so on.

As can be seen, the two-minute rule allows you to work in the most relaxed manner possible rather than feeling pressed. This rule is not about the outcomes you achieve, but rather about the process of doing it. The emphasis is on taking a small action that is better than doing nothing. A revolution can be completed in less than 120 seconds. So, what are you waiting for?