Overcoming Procrastination

Overcoming Procrastination: The 5 Minute Rule by Scarlett McQuillan

Understanding Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or avoiding tasks that need to be accomplished. 

Contrary to popular belief, this is not due to laziness or poor time-management, but a coping mechanism developed to deal with the negative emotions associated with a task. Whether it’s fear of failure, overwhelm, insecurity, anxiety or boredom, our brain will try to protect us from these negative emotions for as long as possible. This is where procrastination steps in. It helps us to avoid the negative feelings in that moment, even though we know the stress will be worse later.

The good news is that procrastination is a habit that can be overcome if you use the right strategies.

What is the Five-Minute Rule

The Five-Minute Rule is a powerful cognitive-behavioural technique that involves committing to work on a task for just five minutes. 

The idea behind this rule is that by turning your task into a small, manageable five-minute chunk, your brain no longer views it as a threat and fewer negative emotions are produced. This helps overcome the initial resistance, which is often the biggest hurdle when trying to complete a task. The key is to focus on taking that first step and breaking the inertia of procrastination.

How to Apply the Five-Minute Rule

- Choose a task: Identify the task you've been putting off and want to tackle.

- Eliminate distractions: turn off notifications, silence social media, finding a quiet workspace, or even use website blockers. If you still struggle from temptation to go on your phone make it more difficult to access by putting it in another room, drawer or giving it to a friend.

- Set a timer: Set a timer for five minutes. This short timeframe helps to eliminate the feeling of overwhelm and knowing you can stop afterwards gives an incentive to start. 

- Start working: Begin working on the task, fully immersing yourself for those five minutes. Remember, the goal is to get started, not to complete the entire task.

- Evaluate progress: After the five minutes are up, take a moment to evaluate your progress. If you feel motivated to continue, go ahead! If not, give yourself permission to stop, take a break and enjoy the feeling of having accomplished some of the task. You can always come back to it later using the Five-Minute Rule again.

Remember, starting is often the hardest part. Once you take that first step, you'll find yourself gaining momentum and accomplishing more than you thought possible. So, the next time you find yourself procrastinating, give the Five-Minute Rule a try; you may find it makes all the difference.