In western world they have this unscientific "5 seconds rule" regarding food dropped on floor. If it is picked up within 5 seconds, it will be safe and not contaminated with germs.
I am certainly not talking about that. Instead I am talking about Mel Robbins 5 seconds rule about overcoming procrastination, avoiding bad decisions and more importantly getting into action mode.
According to her famous book by the same title , we all know what is good for us, what we should be doing and what we should not be doing. But we do not break bad habits, we do not go into action mode, because our brain resists any type of change.
In such a stressful situation we need to count down 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 and get into action mode.
For example if you are feeling lethargic in the morning when alarm rings, count 5 to 1 and then get up. The key here is you are not giving too much time for the brain to think and find excuses not to get up. And once you are up, things will start moving.
You have realized by now (like me) that no matter how many TED talks you watch, starting some thing new is very difficult. Once you start by overcoming initial inertia things will move more easily. Some thing like Newton's first law of motion - An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.??
I also read another article by Gretchen Rubin where she says if anything can be done in one minute - it should be done immediately. And this helps a lot in tasks like decluttering the house, put clothes in washing machine, reply an email etc. . We all know what happens when we keep postponing these tiny tiny tasks. These grow into a mountain and make us feel overwhelmed by them.
I also do another thing - I tell myself that I will do some unwanted chore only for 5 minutes. And , happily my mind agrees to it. And when I realize how much is being done in 5 minutes, I complete that chore most of the times.
And my friend gave me yet another idea - when we have a buddy doing the same task, like a learning something new, then we can inspire each other to complete the task. We can discuss our progress, help each other out and laugh over our difficulties.
And if all else fails, there is always coffee. Drink coffee to lure yourself to do the task - tell yourself that "OK, here is your coffee. Can we start work now? Please?"
I am certainly not talking about that. Instead I am talking about Mel Robbins 5 seconds rule about overcoming procrastination, avoiding bad decisions and more importantly getting into action mode.
According to her famous book by the same title , we all know what is good for us, what we should be doing and what we should not be doing. But we do not break bad habits, we do not go into action mode, because our brain resists any type of change.
In such a stressful situation we need to count down 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 and get into action mode.
For example if you are feeling lethargic in the morning when alarm rings, count 5 to 1 and then get up. The key here is you are not giving too much time for the brain to think and find excuses not to get up. And once you are up, things will start moving.
You have realized by now (like me) that no matter how many TED talks you watch, starting some thing new is very difficult. Once you start by overcoming initial inertia things will move more easily. Some thing like Newton's first law of motion - An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.??
I also read another article by Gretchen Rubin where she says if anything can be done in one minute - it should be done immediately. And this helps a lot in tasks like decluttering the house, put clothes in washing machine, reply an email etc. . We all know what happens when we keep postponing these tiny tiny tasks. These grow into a mountain and make us feel overwhelmed by them.
I also do another thing - I tell myself that I will do some unwanted chore only for 5 minutes. And , happily my mind agrees to it. And when I realize how much is being done in 5 minutes, I complete that chore most of the times.
And my friend gave me yet another idea - when we have a buddy doing the same task, like a learning something new, then we can inspire each other to complete the task. We can discuss our progress, help each other out and laugh over our difficulties.
And if all else fails, there is always coffee. Drink coffee to lure yourself to do the task - tell yourself that "OK, here is your coffee. Can we start work now? Please?"
Comments
Post a Comment