2-minute rule
We’ve all heard about the 5-minute rule with food, right? Well, the 2-minute rule has nothing to do with that. When I as a certified health and wellness coach (NBHWC certified at UWSP) listen to the vision and dreams of my clients, this gives them the opportunity to formulate ideas that have been floating around in the minds. They put the healthier vision of themselves they see in their mind into words usually for the first time. We then co-create small goals to achieve the outcome they are striving towards. I ask them, “What’s that one thing you can do today to move closer to that goal?” Baby steps to larger goals are created, tweaked, and put into actionable steps for the client so that they achieve success and forward positive movement. “You can keep things simple and reduce stress by focusing on the daily process and sticking to your schedule…rather than worrying about the big, life-changing goals.” James Clear.
We talk in terms of starting small, picking the low hanging fruit, or taking baby steps. It’s about showing up and creating a healthy habit, then in time tweaking that habit until it becomes an automatic action and lifestyle change or a routine (James calls this a system) of daily living. It can be challenging for a client to start small in this microwave, instant gratification culture. A big part of coaching is actively listening to a client’s desires and helping them discover the path to their future, then helping them formulate that next step. Each goal then needs a measure of success so that the client feels successful and can feel that forward movement. Unrealistic goals that are not sustainable are the reason people can’t be successful, it’s not you! You are just taking too big a leap for it to stick and become a habit.
Therefore, I would recommend choosing a habit that is as easy as possible to perform.
I love it when I hear my clients say, “Yeah, I’m a 9-10 on confidence with that goal, I know I can do it!” They are gaining self-confidence and creating momentum and internal motivation to keep moving forward when they achieve a small goal. Their willingness and readiness for change are high scores, 8-9 out of 10 scores! They are releasing dopamine and other good chemicals in their brains, creating new neuropathways of positive success! As James Clear says, “You choose the future with your actions each day.”
I love the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. He used his personal expertise and wrote a book of practical tips and sensible tricks that helped him move forward and achieve his goals. He is a blogger and constantly thinking, challenging me to think and enhance my craft. James states, “The most effective way I know to do this (create a new habit) is to follow the “Two-Minute Rule.” The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”
Once a client knows his/her future vision or identity we can take that first goal and break it down into a habit. That habit is then scaled down into a two-minute version.
For example:
“Walk 8,000 steps each day” becomes “Put on my athletic shoes.”
“Keep the house tidy” becomes “take away one piece of clutter, put it away/ or in a box for donation.”
“Be a better spouse” becomes “make my partner a cup of coffee every morning.”
“Study my Bible or read a devotional becomes “set my Bible and devotional books out on the end table by the couch.”
The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. The Two-Minute Rule helps counterbalance our tendency to bite off more than we can chew. It also gives you a small way to reinforce your desired identity each day. When you start walking the walk, the new habit has a chance to grow roots.
The 2-minute rule brings clarity to the outcome you want to achieve. It brings your dreams into focus.
Basically, you’re trying to cue yourself by building a “gateway habit” for a larger behavior or bigger ambition (long term goal) that you’re ultimately working toward. The key is to make it easy to start and the rest will follow. You are training yourself to initiate the new healthy habit and showing up. You may need to show up a few times before you follow through with more, but you are creating the “gateway habit” that can lead to more. Over time your practice will make the new habit permanent, not perfect. You may not be able to “automate” the whole habit, but you can make the first action mindful using the 2-minute rule.
It’s easier for clients to figure out the gateway habits that will lead to the desired outcome by mapping out goals on a scale from “very easy” to “very hard.” Most people start with ambitions that are long term goals, which are big and very hard to accomplish. As a health coach I guide clients to think about and try habits that are small and very easy. Those trials are goals that we tweak until they have successfully navigated through challenges or overcome barriers and obstacles in their lives. Quick wins or picking the low hanging fruit builds the feeling of success. It helps a client take a one rung on the ladder at a time approach. They then gain a great level of confidence that they can do it. This is also called a short-term goal.
One rung at a time…what’s the next step you can take, today?
For example, eating the recommended amount of fruit and veggies a day is very hard for someone who eats maybe one veggie a week. Eating all the veggies and not the fruit is very difficult. Eating 3 servings of veggies is moderately difficult. Eating 1 fruit or veggie per day is easy. Eating 3 servings of fruit and 3 of veggies In a weeks’ time is very easy. Your ultimate ambition might be to eat the MyPlate recommendations, but your gateway habit is trying a fruit or veggie and creating a list of those you have tried, then adding a new color of the rainbow to next week’s grocery list and try another. That’s how you follow the Two-Minute Rule.
Even broad life goals can be transformed into a two-minute behavior. Wanting to live a healthy life may be your ultimate ambition, but then you can ask “what do I need to live a healthy life” – I need to get in shape. Then you can ask what do I need to get into shape – I need to be more active. What do I need to do to be more active? I need to change into my workout clothes or take the stairs more often. And so on until you get to a behavior that takes two minutes or less – until you discover the first movement.
So, in this case, putting on your workout clothes becomes your two-minute habit that moves you toward your ultimate ambition of living a healthy life.
People often think it’s weird to get hyped about putting on your shoes or placing one item of clothing in the laundry basket, or making one cup of coffee, or setting your books out on the desk. But the point is not to do two minutes of work and then never do anything else. The point is to master the art of showing up.
As James says, “The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details.”
Here’s an example, if you want to work out, start a 2-minute habit like putting on your gym shoes. The habit to start isn’t even about exercising. Yes, you could put on your shoes and sit down and watch the exercise video. You could grab your resistance tube, set it up as if he were going to use it and not actually do any reps. You can’t do this forever of course, but in the beginning, the idea is to get comfortable with the moves in the video or using the resistance tube. To become the type of person who is active and uses the video and resistance tube four days per week.
Make it the standard habit in your life, then worry about doing it better.
Strategies like this work for another reason too: they reinforce the identity you want to build. If you watch the video five days in a row—even if it’s just for two minutes—you are casting votes for your new identity. You’re casting votes for the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts. You’re taking the smallest action that confirms the type of person you want to be.
Resources: James Clear Atomic Habits