--- title: Stop Procrastinating: Use the 2 Minute Rule description: James Clear describes the 2-minute rule for ending procrastination and becoming more productive. canonical: https://time.com/4242052/2-minute-rule-procrastinating/ author: James Clear article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-01T13:30:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:01:56.107Z og:title: How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the '2-Minute Rule' og:description: Every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less og:url: https://time.com/4242052/2-minute-rule-procrastinating/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eed9aab2374bc90/69887faacf40a82e9dc42362/procrastination-two-minute-rule-productive.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5315 og:image:height: 2990 og:image:alt: 528799879 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the '2-Minute Rule' twitter:description: Every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eed9aab2374bc90/69887faacf40a82e9dc42362/procrastination-two-minute-rule-productive.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the '2-Minute Rule' (1 Mar 2016) > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [James Clear](https://time.com/author/james-clear/) ## James Clear Mar 1, 2016 1:30 PM UTC  Stopping pink alarm clock deadline Stopping pink alarm clock deadline Getty Images by [James Clear](https://time.com/author/james-clear/) ## James Clear Mar 1, 2016 1:30 PM UTC Recently, I’ve been following a simple rule that is helping me crush procrastination and making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time. I want to share it with you today so that you can try it out and see how it works in your life. The best part? It’s a simple strategy that couldn’t be easier to use. Here’s what you need to know… **How to Stop Procrastinating With the “2–Minute Rule”** I call this little strategy the “2–Minute Rule” and the goal is to make it easier for you to get started on the things you should be doing. Here’s the deal… Most of the tasks that you procrastinate on aren’t actually difficult to do — you have the talent and skills to accomplish them — you just avoid starting them for one reason or another. The 2–Minute Rule overcomes procrastination and laziness by making it so easy to start taking action that you can’t say no. There are two parts to the 2–Minute Rule… **_More from JamesClear.com:_** [_Transform Your Habits: The Science of How to Stick to Good Habits and Break Bad Ones_](http://jamesclear.com/habits) **Part 1 — If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.** Part I comes from David Allen’s bestselling book, _Getting Things Done_. It’s surprising how many things we put off that we could get done in two minutes or less. For example, washing your dishes immediately after your meal, tossing the laundry in the washing machine, taking out the garbage, cleaning up clutter, sending that email, and so on. If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, then follow the rule and do it right now. **Part 2 — When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.** Can all of your goals be accomplished in less than two minutes? Obviously not. But, _every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less._ And that’s the purpose behind this little rule. It might sound like this strategy is too basic for your grand life goals, but I beg to differ. It works for any goal because of one simple reason: the physics of real life. **_More from JamesClear.com:_** [_How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”_](http://jamesclear.com/stop-procrastinating-seinfeld-strategy) The Physics of Real Life As Sir Isaac Newton taught us a long time ago, objects at rest tend to stay at rest and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. This is just as true for humans as it is for falling apples. The 2–Minute Rule works for big goals as well as small goals because of the inertia of life. Once you start doing something, it’s easier to continue doing it. I love the 2–Minute Rule because it embraces the idea that all sorts of good things happen _once you get started_. **Want to become a better writer?** Just write one sentence (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll often find yourself writing for an hour. **Want to eat healthier?** Just eat one piece of fruit (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll often find yourself inspired to make a healthy salad as well. **Want to make reading a habit?** Just read the first page of a new book (2–Minute Rule), and before you know it, the first three chapters have flown by. **Want to run three times a week?** Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, just get your running shoes on and get out the door (2–Minute Rule), and you’ll end up putting mileage on your legs instead of popcorn in your stomach. The most important part of any new habit is getting started — not just the first time, but each time. It’s not about performance, it’s about consistently taking action. In many ways, [getting started is more important than succeeding](http://jamesclear.com/start-succeed). This is especially true in the beginning because there will be plenty of time to improve your performance later on. The 2–Minute Rule isn’t about the results you achieve, but rather about the process of actually doing the work. It works really well for people who believe that [the system is more important than the goal](http://jamesclear.com/goals-systems). The focus is on taking action and letting things flow from there. **_More from JamesClear.com:_** [_Successful People Start Before They Feel Ready_](http://jamesclear.com/successful-people-start-before-they-feel-ready) **Try It Now** I can’t guarantee whether or not the 2–Minute Rule will work for you. But, I can guarantee that it will never work if you never try it. The problem with most articles you read, podcasts you listen to, or videos you watch is that you consume the information but never put it into practice. I want this article to be different. I want you to actually use this information, right now. What’s something you can do that will take you less than two minutes? Do it right now. Anyone can spare the next 120 seconds. Use this time to get one thing done. Go. _James Clear_ _writes at JamesClear.com about building better habits and improving your mental and physical performance. For more useful ideas,_ [_join his free weekly newsletter_](http://jamesclear.com/newsletter)_._ _This piece originally appeared on_ [_JamesClear.com_](http://jamesclear.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4242052/2-minute-rule-procrastinating/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4242052/2-minute-rule-procrastinating/"},"headline":"How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the '2-Minute Rule' (1 Mar 2016)","datePublished":"2016-03-01T13:30:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:56.107Z","description":"Every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less","url":"https://time.com/4242052/2-minute-rule-procrastinating/","keywords":["motto","Psychology","Books","habits","productivity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eed9aab2374bc90/69887faacf40a82e9dc42362/procrastination-two-minute-rule-productive.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"James Clear","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/james-clear/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3eed9aab2374bc90/69887faacf40a82e9dc42362/procrastination-two-minute-rule-productive.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"528799879","caption":"528799879","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4242052/2-minute-rule-procrastinating/","name":"How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the '2-Minute Rule' (1 Mar 2016)"}}]}] ```