Habits are automatic choices that influence the conscious decisions that follow. Yes, a habit can be completed in just a
few seconds, but it can also shape the actions that you take for minutes
or hours afterward.
Habits are like the entrance ramp to a highway. They lead you down
a path and, before you know it, you’re speeding toward the next
behavior. It seems to be easier to continue what you are already doing
than to start doing something different. You sit through a bad movie
for two hours. You keep snacking even when you’re already full. You
check your phone for “just a second” and soon you have spent twenty
minutes staring at the screen. In this way, the habits you follow
without thinking often determine the choices you make when you are
thinking.
Every day, there are a handful of moments that deliver an outsized
impact. I refer to these little choices as decisive moments. The moment
you decide between ordering takeout or cooking dinner. The moment
you choose between driving your car or riding your bike. The moment
you decide between starting your homework or grabbing the video
game controller. These choices are a fork in the road.
DECISIVE MOMENTS
Decisive moments set the options available to your future self..
We are limited by where our habits lead us. This is why mastering
the decisive moments throughout your day is so important. Each day is
made up of many moments, but it is really a few habitual choices that
determine the path you take. These little choices stack up, each one
setting the trajectory for how you spend the next chunk of time.
Habits are the entry point, not the end point. They are the cab, not
the gym
THE TWO-MINUTE RULE
Even when you know you should start small, it’s easy to start too big.
When you dream about making a change, excitement inevitably takes
over and you end up trying to do too much too soon. The most effective
way I know to counteract this tendency is to use the Two-Minute Rule,
which states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two
minutes to do."
You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two minute version:
- “Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.”
- “Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my yoga mat.”
- “Study for class” becomes “Open my notes.”
- “Fold the laundry” becomes “Fold one pair of socks.” “Run three miles” becomes “Tie my running shoes.
The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. Anyone
can meditate for one minute, read one page, or put one item of clothing
away. And, as we have just discussed, this is a powerful strategy
because once you’ve started doing the right thing, it is much easier to
continue doing it. A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The
actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should
be easy. What you want is a “gateway habit” that naturally leads you
down a more productive path.
You can usually figure out the gateway habits that will lead to your
desired outcome by mapping out your goals on a scale from “very easy”
to “very hard.” For instance, running a marathon is very hard. Running
a 5K is hard. Walking ten thousand steps is moderately difficult.
Walking ten minutes is easy. And putting on your running shoes is very
easy. Your goal might be to run a marathon, but your gateway habit is
to put on your running shoes. That’s how you follow the Two-Minute
Rule.
People often think it’s weird to get hyped about reading one page or
meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not
to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up. 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. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit
from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have
to standardize before you can optimize.
The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the
more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus
that is required to do great things. By doing the same warm-up before
every workout, you make it easier to get into a state of peak
performance. By following the same creative ritual, you make it easier
to get into the hard work of creating. By developing a consistent
power-down habit, you make it easier to get to bed at a reasonable time
each night. You may not be able to automate the whole process, but
you can make the first action mindless. Make it easy to start and the
rest will follow.
The Two-Minute Rule can seem like a trick to some people. You
know that the real goal is to do more than just two minutes, so it may
feel like you’re trying to fool yourself. Nobody is actually aspiring to
read one page or do one push-up or open their notes. And if you know
it’s a mental trick, why would you fall for it?
If the Two-Minute Rule feels forced, try this: do it for two minutes
and then stop. Go for a run, but you must stop after two minutes. Start
meditating, but you must stop after two minutes. It’s not a strategy for starting, it’s the
whole thing. Your habit can only last one hundred and twenty seconds.
Journaling provides another example. Nearly everyone can benefit
from getting their thoughts out of their head and onto paper, but most
people give up after a few days or avoid it entirely because journaling
feels like a chore.* The secret is to always stay below the point where it
feels like work. Greg McKeown, a leadership consultant from the
United Kingdom, built a daily journaling habit by specifically writing
less than he felt like. He always stopped journaling before it seemed
like a hassle. Ernest Hemingway believed in similar advice for any kind
of writing. “The best way is to always stop when you are going good,”
he said.
Strategies like this work for another reason, too: they reinforce the
identity you want to build. If you show up at the gym five days in a row
—even if it’s just for two minutes—you are casting votes for your new
identity. You’re not worried about getting in shape. You’re focused on
becoming 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.
We rarely think about change this way because everyone is
consumed by the end goal. But one push-up is better than not
exercising. One minute of guitar practice is better than none at all. One
minute of reading is better than never picking up a book. It’s better to
do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.
Start by mastering the first two minutes of the smallest version of
the behavior. Then, advance to an intermediate step and repeat the
process—focusing on just the first two minutes and mastering that
stage before moving on to the next level. Eventually, you’ll end up with the habit you had originally hoped to build while still keeping your
focus where it should be: on the first two minutes of the behavior.
Nearly any larger life goal can be transformed into a two-minute
behavior. I want to live a healthy and long life > I need to stay in shape
> I need to exercise > I need to change into my workout clothes. I want
to have a happy marriage > I need to be a good partner > I should do
something each day to make my partner’s life easier > I should meal
plan for next week.
Whenever you are struggling to stick with a habit, you can employ
the Two-Minute Rule. It’s a simple way to make your habits easy.
Chapter Summary
- Habits can be completed in a few seconds but continue to impact
your behavior for minutes or hours afterward.
- Many habits occur at decisive moments choices that are like a
fork in the road and either send you in the direction of a productive day or an unproductive one.
- The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a new habit, it
should take less than two minutes to do.”
- The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely
it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is
required to do great things.
- Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that
doesn’t exist.
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