Do you ever feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day?

Me too (way less since having a 👶).

Maybe it’s a busy season at work. Maybe it’s crazy at home. Maybe it’s all of the above.

You’ve got something important to do. Something you know you’ll kick yourself for if you don’t complete. Maybe you’ve been building a new habit. Maybe you’re staring down a deadline. Maybe you’ve made a promise to someone that you need to keep.

We’ve all found ourselves staring down something we need to do — only we’d rather sit on the couch and watch Netflix or scroll TikTok.

Fortunately, I have a trick for times just like this.

I call this my 20 Minute Rule, and here's how it works:

The 20 Minute Rule

I set a timer on my phone for 20 minutes and then I do the thing I'm procrastinating on — but only for 20 minutes.

This is a long enough time to become engaged with the task, but short enough that it's not too much of a time commitment.

When the timer is up I decide whether or not I want to keep going. Sometimes, 20 is plenty. So I stop!

…But more often than not I keep going because getting started is often the hardest part. Once we get started we gain momentum and can keep going well after the 20-minutes is over.

Did you know that a rocketship uses 80% of its fuel just leaving earth? Once it hits escape velocity the remaining 20% of fuel will get it the rest of the way and the return trip back.

The 20-minute timer is my cheat code to get momentum on starting something.

We’re working with ancient hardware (our brains) in a modern world. Think of it like an operating system and start writing some programs so you can run them the way you want. By programs I mean small shortcuts like this that get you moving — if only for 20 minutes.

This doesn’t just pertain to work either.

Avoiding cleaning? Set a timer and stop when it ends. You'd be surprised how much you can get done in those small 20 minute bursts of time.

Things you can do in only 20 minutes:

• Organize your downloads folder
• Take a power nap
• Mop your floors
• Respond to 5 of those emails that have been sitting unanswered
• Meditate
• Clean the kitchen after a meal
• Peloton class with Cody Rigsby
• Read a chapter of a book
• Send an email to a friend
• Watch a TED Talk
• Organize stuff in 1 drawer
• Take the dog for a walk
• Write an atomic essay...

I estimate this email only took a few minutes to read, so you still have 15 of 20 minutes remaining to get started on a task you’ve been procrastinating on.

Send me a quick reply about what you’re going to do, then get started! I bet you’ll be surprised how far you get!

Cathryn