How I stopped procrastinating using the four minute rule

Published in Positivity by Chere Bork MS, RDN on July 22, 2013
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I Confess

Instead of writing this article I found myself baking a blueberry banana cake for my newlyweds Dani and Dave. What’s amusing is that I don’t bake anymore and a cake takes a lot more time than anything else you could cook up in your kitchen. I’m not alone. According to Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at De Paul University in Chicago who is one of the leading experts on procrastination, twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. For them procrastination is a lifestyle. They wait until Christmas Eve to buy their presents. Maybe even pay their bills late.

We are over the moon having Dani and Dave move back to Mpls. We enjoyed eating on the deck every night they were here. Notice all the veggies and fruit served with the BBQ Chicken. We are lucky to have Dave in the family as he is an excellent cook and cooked me breakfast every day.

 

But, maybe you are in the 80% where you procrastinate occasionally and realize it creates unnecessary stress in your life.   The next six weeks are the perfect time to clean up your to do lists and get ready for a fresh new start and new season.

In the book, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen, Allen recommends using the “Two Minute Rule”. It is surprising how many tasks we put off that we could get done in two minutes like washing the dishes right after your meal, taking out the garbage or tossing a load of towels in the washing machine. He says it if takes less than two minutes to complete, follow the rule and do it right now.

My Problem

My problem is that I don’t want to start and NOT finish. What can I possibly get DONE in just two minutes?  Just ask Gary the number of times I have left the vacuum cleaner out for him to trip on for an entire week because I only had time to vacuum one room. (I secretly hope Gary will get tired of tripping on it and finish vacuuming the house which he usually does) So the two minute rule does not work for me.

Love Hate Relationship with my Dishwasher

I don’t know about you but I am miserable if I have to unload and load the dishwasher after dinner. When I sit down to eat, I like a clean kitchen counter, empty sink and all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I can’t enjoy my meal if the kitchen is left in a disaster.  After Brett left for the University  of Iowa, Gary and I had the new responsibility of emptying the dishwasher again. It would bug me all day that I needed to empty the dishwasher.  Sometimes we would have to do the unthinkable and empty and load the dish after dinner.  Some days it seemed like I thought about it once an hour…”Chere unload the dishwasher before Gary comes home for dinner.”

I often tell coaching clients we manage what we measure. And, I wondered how long it does take to empty the dishwasher. Guess what? Four minutes 28 seconds for a big load. I started to measure other tasks too. Breakfast dishes 3.5 minutes. Sweeping the kitchen floor took 4 minutes.

The four minute rule isn’t about the results you achieve but rather about the process of you actually doing the work. Your focus is on taking action. Like Mark Twain says, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started!” Maybe today is the day you have been waiting for. You have one life to live, just imagine if it was one you loved. Better Get Busy!

From Chere Bork

I love my life! I have a passion and a purpose to share my recipe for health and happiness with RDNs and others – maybe even more so now that I’ve officially retired. If you want to learn what I discovered through coaching 1000 people over 9000 hours check out my final post, “Live Like This Is Your Last Day. Someday It Will Be!”

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