Monday, May 15th, 2006...9:42 am
The Importance of the Two Minute Rule
As I look at the GTD® process flow on my office wall, I am drawn to the decision box that says, “What is the next action?”. Of course, when you ask this question, you have several options. First, if you need someone else to perform task, you delegate. Second, if it takes more than 2 minutes, then you either put it on your next actions list or , if it is time specific, on a calendar (hard landscape).
But if the task takes less than two minutes, you do it.
Many of the tasks that cross my desk fall in this category. This is nice for me, because it keeps my next actions list pretty short. But if I did not apply the two minute rule, I would have a large pile of tasks staring me in the face that I should have already completed.
In a previous post, I noted that GTD is a discipline. There is a psychological facet to it as well.
Our minds do not manage large amounts of work very well. If the pile gets too big, as we see it, it will start to “freak us out”. When this happens, we react one of two ways. We either get a burst of energy and start moving paper to get to a more desired equilibrium, or we start to despair.
For those who get that burst of energy from the perceived crisis, it is a matter of getting back on the horse and getting to a state of comfort with our workload. However, if this happens consistently, we expend more energy falling off the horse and getting back on, than it takes to maintain the system in the first place. Therefore, “mind like water” is not possible.
For those who despair, the tendency is to just give up and not face it, or work away with no energy. At this point, it is best to reorganize and make another run at it. Apply the rule the second time around…and stay positive. Nope, no “mind like water” here.
I do not want to be in either of these states, so I do my best to apply the two minute rule as I process. This way, I am…
1) Actually getting something done rather than just thinking about it.
2) Not allowing my next actions list to get any bigger than it really has to be.
The combination of that feeling of accomplishing something and the feeling of some level of control help maintain that karma we are looking for to maintain a “mind like water”.
- Jason
3 Comments
May 15th, 2006 at 11:59 am
This is one of my favourite productivity tips with so many potential benefits:
- no need to add items to an already long to-do list
- sense of achievement as stuff is despatched promptly
- makes excellent use of what DA calls ‘weird windows of time’ that crop up in the day
- stops 2 minutes jobs becoming much larger through delay
This last one is my favourite - so many tasks (and in particular email responses!) become bigger the longer you leave them. If you’re gonna do - do it. If not - forget it or delete ruthlessly!
May 17th, 2006 at 8:00 am
Hugh,
Good points. Managing workflow is not all about organization. It also takes some smarts and some energy. Sometimes it is hard to not look at something and go, “Hmmmph”, and put it back where it came from.
May 25th, 2006 at 8:22 am
I used to get really demoralised when my to-do list just didn’t get done because other jobs (especially jobs which were on the bosses to-do list) kept coming my way. That was until I stated giving my self credit for the work I was doing. On my daily list I would always add the jobs I had done then have the satisfaction of crossing them out straight away. At least then I could go home having crossed out half my jobs …even if they hadn’t been there at the start of the day. Transfer the remainder to tommorrows list and you’ve not got any jobs outstanding!
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