Rahul, have you been slacking off your exercise routine?’ asked Rinku. ‘It’s showing, dude.’
‘Arre, don’t remind me, Rinku,’ said Rahul. ‘It’s difficult to keep it going despite my best intentions. I get up, snooze for five minutes and then never get going.’
‘Same here, man,’ said Rinku. ‘I planned to study for two hours every day but I just can’t seem to sustain it. I feel like a loser.’
‘I have a technique that can change it all,’ said Rakesh. ‘It’s a superb idea called the two-minute rule that I found on James Clear’s blog. Haven’t missed a day of writing since.’
‘Wow,’ said Rinku. ‘What’s it about, bhaiyya?’
‘The two-minute rule says that any activity should not be for more than two minutes,’ said Rakesh. ‘Just two minutes. Breakdown your big activity into a two-minute version and get going right away. Rahul, put on your workout gear and get started – a couple of push-ups or crunches — for two minutes. And Rinku, study one page. No major preparation, no pressure.’
‘What?’ asked Rinku. ‘That’s it?’
‘But bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘What can we achieve in two minutes as against our two-hour schedules?’
‘Our big plans overwhelm us. Thinking of two-hour routines paralyses us into inaction. By making it easy and getting started, we bypass our suspicious mind which sees no threat in the two-minute activity. There are two advantages here. Firstly, once we get started, we tend to carry on for way longer. Secondly, even if we did the activity for two minutes, two push-ups or one page of study daily, it’s better than doing nothing, right?’ said Rakesh.
‘Yes, bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘And we feel good when we don’t break the chain.’
‘True,’ said Rakesh. ‘Doing things consistently is the key to building habits and achieving great results. Get the body started for two minutes, quieten the mind and you’re on your way to achieve what you set out to achieve. The best part is that we can do the two-minute drill anytime and as many times as we like.’
‘Wow,’ said Rahul. ‘Why didn’t we think of this before? I’ll use the two-minute rule in all areas of my life.’
‘This two-minute rule will surely change my life,’ said Rinku.
