Get Started on Your Goals with the 5 Minute Rule

Jun 13, 2021 | 0 comments

Share on:

Are you the type of person that has a hard time getting started on new projects? Do you struggle to start studying for your next big test or begin working on your next assignment?

Before we get to solving this issue, there’s one thing we should remember. The best way to make progress is one step at a time. Think micro not macro when it comes to executing, and you’ll see that the small actions matter most. Progress isn’t derived from any single bold move; instead it’s made in tiny increments every day with consistency until we reach our goal.

In the words of James Clear,

“When making plans, think big. When making progress, think small.”

Long-term big goals are important because they keep us motivated and moving in the right direction. But when it comes to achieving them, small consistent actions can help us more than occasional bursts of energy.

This is where the five minute rule applies. Even if we want to make progress on our goals, it’s easy to get discouraged when we feel like the task will take a long time.

So what exactly is the 5-minute rule?

The 5-minute rule is a technique for procrastination in which you set a goal of doing whatever it is you would otherwise avoid, but only do it for five minutes. If after five minutes it’s so horrible that you have to stop, you are free to do so.

However, after starting most people feel that it’s easier to continue doing it and get it done rather than stopping, and end up continuing their goal.

On the other hand, if you choose to stop after five minutes you’ll have still made some progress.

So it’s a win-win situation.

I kinda like to take it up a notch and modify this a bit.

Every time there’s something we don’t wanna do, we try to avoid it. But the more we avoid it, the more it keeps on lingering in the back of our minds.

So every time the task I’m avoiding pops up in my head, I apply the 5-minute rule. By the end of it, I either decide to sit down and complete it or pat myself on the back for the little progress I’ve made and continue with my work.

Both ways, I would have moved forward.

The technique works because the rule is a great way to get yourself into the habit of doing things you are avoiding, but without any pressure or obligation. You might start with something small and manageable without feeling overwhelmed.

5 minutes of work is so ridiculously easy that it’s almost pathetic. It’s so simple that you’re not going to be able to talk yourself out of it. It’ll take you more effort to convince yourself not to do it than actually doing the task.

This rule’s working also has something to do with why we procrastinate. We don’t procrastinate because we’re lazy. It’s more because we avoid work when we fear that we might not be able to complete it or accomplish it. When our goal is something as small as a 5 minute chunk, things seem more approachable.

The idea that we can use small actions to overcome our big goals is a great way of getting anything done.

Everything you want in life starts with taking action, no matter what size the task may be.

Bottom line

The 5-minute rule is a technique where you set a goal of doing something that you would otherwise avoid, but only do it for five minutes. After that you can continue if you wish to or stop doing the activity if you don’t feel like it. Either way you would have made progress.

← Previous Next →

Why Letting Go is More Important for Yourself than Anyone Else

Jun 6, 2021 | 0 comments

Share on:

That pang you feel even after you say, ‘I’m over it’. That’s called not being able to let go. You might not even know it, but you’re holding on to something that’s hurting you. And it’s not just the people that can be hurting. It’s your thoughts, it’s the situations that you’re in and it can even be how you see yourself.

Letting go is not only about allowing someone or something else to let go, but rather freeing yourself of the burden that thing might be on you.

Think of this as paying attention while driving (some of you may have never sat in the driver seat of a car but you’ll get the idea).

Recollect how many types of mirrors and glasses are there for assisting the driver.

There’s the rear view mirror, the side-view mirrors and ultimately the windshield.

Now think about the purpose of each of these mirrors.

The rear view mirror is to help the driver see what’s behind them.

The side view mirror allows us to see what’s in our blind spots and what is happening around the car at the same spot it is on.

The windshield, while it doesn’t have the added benefit of being able to show a reflection like a mirror does, is there for one reason and that’s so you can see where you’re going (also be aware of obstacles) and look ahead.

It wouldn’t be too strange of an analogy to compare our lives to the car and the phases of our lives to the mirrors and glasses.

The rear view mirror: our past. The side-view mirrors: the present and what we are doing. And finally, the windshield is like a screen to show us our path ahead and where our destination will be in life.

Another interesting, but not coincidental fact is the size of each mirror.

The rear view mirror is pretty small but big enough to make sure we’re not attacked by something from behind, or rather the mistakes from our past.

The side-view mirrors are much bigger and we can see the present world around us with a lot more clarity, and as much as we need to pay attention to them, being attentive only to them won’t suffice.

And the windshield is big enough to show us our destination and what we need to do in order to reach it. It shows us our vision ahead and the obstacles that may come with it.

An added advantage to the rear view and side view mirrors is the ability to reflect upon them and adjust them.

You can think about your past and your present and reflect upon it. You have the control to adjust them and see the same things from different perspectives. A missed opportunity in the past can be viewed as a close save. A mistake you did in the past can be seen as a good lesson learned.

You have the control to adjust your mirrors and see life from different perspectives. Let go of old situations that don’t serve any purpose, thoughts that are not helpful anymore, or beliefs that no longer make sense for you. Cut out the noise from your past and the present and look forward to what’s next.

While talking about it, letting go is often used in the sense of letting people who hurt you or bother you go. But it’s not about just that. It’s also about leaving behind situations you are not happy with, your beliefs that don’t let you grow, your thoughts that don’t bring you peace, and all the other things in life that are not what you want. You may want to hold onto them because they helped you at some point, but you don’t need them anymore if it doesn’t help you now.

Remember that if something or someone hurts you or throws hate towards you, it is your decision to respond to them, to participate in their meaningless conversations. You don’t owe anyone anything.

I recognize that in some cases it is easier said than done, but sometimes it is possible.

And when it comes to letting go, there are no rules or guidelines – just do what feels right for you! The more you practice letting things go, the easier it will get and the better off your life will be. It is okay to take some time before you can easily let go of something. If an attachment was built in years, you can’t expect it to disappear in a day. It takes courage and determination to change your own thoughts. Letting go can take time and that’s fine – especially when it is something of ours, be it our thoughts or beliefs that we’ve held onto for a long time.

In a nutshell

Letting go is about freeing yourself from burdens.

The rear view mirror: Reflecting on past mistakes and experiences, but not letting them define you or your life.

Side-view mirrors: Understanding current events happening around you so that they don’t surprise you down the road.

Windshield: Seeing a clear picture of what you want for your life and having the will to pursue it with everything in you, no matter how hard it may be or long it takes.

Letting go is not only about leaving people behind, but it also means letting go of any situation and thoughts that you are unhappy with.

You don’t owe anyone a response.

Letting go can take time and that’s fine

← Previous Next →

Tiny Things That Can Improve Your Life

May 30, 2021 | 10 comments

Share on:

#1 Journaling

When you think of journaling, you might think of pretty little notebooks with the fanciest of doodles and drawings. But journaling is much more beyond that. Making it beautiful and aesthetically pleasing is a personal choice, not a mandate.

Journaling is essentially a means to observe your own thoughts and feelings.

And I’d like to address something while we’re on the topic of journaling – Journaling is not something for just girls. If you are a human with thoughts and feelings, then journaling is for you too. I wanted to put this out there since I have not seen one male with the exception of my father who journals. I felt like there was a stereotype around how only girls do journaling. And if you don’t think this, it’s awesome; but if you do, know that every human being who understands that they have emotions can do journaling. (I mentioned people who understand that they have emotions because even someone who does not know how to write, like a kid can also journal)

#2 Not reading the news

At this point in time, I don’t really think that reading the news is a good idea. At least not if you want to keep your sanity in one piece! The news is almost always disheartening. You watch it and you feel pessimistic because you can’t do anything about it. However, what you can do is stop consuming the news and making yourself feel miserable.

To some this might sound a bit counter-intuitive since we’ve been told for years to read the news and listen to it. Just give it a shot and don’t read the newspaper and listen to the news for a week. You’ll know the difference. Try doing this just as an experiment.

#3 Scheduling your day

Everyday we make a headstrong intention of checking off the tasks off our to do lists. Sometimes, unfortunately we fail to check all of them (or maybe even a few) off. The most common reason for the same is that we don’t clearly define when we’re going to do it. Not assigning the time to the tasks leads to uncertainty about whether or not and when the tasks will be completed.

This is why you need to schedule your day. Put your tasks in the calendar from your to do list. Give a time slot. When you actually put things in your schedule in the calendar they are much more likely to get completed. You start treating them like meetings and scheduled events and know that you don’t have an option to dodge it.

Moreover, you already know what you need to do. You don’t have to spend time skimming through your life to figure out what to do next. This in turn helps in reducing your decision fatigue. (Decision fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making.)

#4 Stretching

This is a no-brainer. With online school and work from home, every single one of us needs to stretch our body every hour or so. And doesn’t even need to be an elaborate stretching routine. Any stretching that opens up your joints and gives them movements works. Stretching frees you up so much physically as well as mentally because your attention is stuck at one point for such a long time.

Besides, you can stretch while your Netflix show’s intro plays. It takes only that much time.

#5 Waking up early

Ever wanted extra hours in a day? Well you can get it.

You just need to wake up early for that.

Yeah I know none of us like that. It’s cliché, it’s old people’s advice and most importantly unpleasant.

Well that is true. I won’t be arguing with that.

But it’s also incredibly satisfying, exhilarating and freeing at the same time.

Once you know how the morning feels before the sun’s up and what your mind can do at that time, you’ll be addicted to it. (You just need to get past the monsters under above your bed – your blankets)

I once woke up at 6 am and I swear I got more work done till 9:30 am than I did the entire previous day.

There’s peace, almost no distractions and I feel like the weather acts in your favour too.

Give these a shot y’all. I’ll be waiting to hear your experiences of trying out the same. Let me know if you’d want me to discuss any of these topics more in detail.

P. S. What is something that’s giving you a hard time or you are having trouble with? I’ll go first – waking up on time and completing my work.

← Previous Next →

How Pain Can Be An Important Guide

May 23, 2021 | 4 comments

Share on:

We go to such lengths to avoid pain. We ignore our work and open netflix to avoid the pain we’d experience in doing our work (actually using our brain cells and energy you know), picking up 2 more bags than you can while helping your mum with grocery to avoid an extra round (the pain of walking a little extra) and sometimes we don’t confront the person we have to talk to (pain of hurting someone or not hearing what we want to).

How peaceful would it be to live a pain free life, isn’t it? We would never have to worry about being hurt – both physically and mentally. But as you may know already, things aren’t as simple as they seem.

It would be alright to live a pain free life if it weren’t for one reason

The benefits of experiencing pain are necessary for our survival. Pain alerts us that something is wrong and we need to attend to it promptly or else risk further injury. If a person has his leg under a heavy rock, the pain tells him to get the leg out, otherwise irreparable harm to the leg may be caused. Pain tells us that we need to fix something that is not right – something that can harm us if not attended to.

Pain also helps us to learn. If something gives you pain, your mind will make sure to remember it. Painful experiences help us learn what not to do in the future; pain is a form of protection from unpleasant memories or harm.

And that is the very reason that pain is unpleasant. If it were pleasant, your mind would either not remember it, or worse, tend to go towards it. Pain is unpleasant because it works to protect us and keep us safe.

Moreover, what we don’t stop to think about is that pain makes us better in a way. Pain pushes our limits and helps us grow stronger, it teaches us how to deal with certain things and make adjustments so the next time won’t be as painful or difficult.

If you’ve found yourself feeling overwhelmed by life’s challenges lately, take some time for self-reflection; what lessons have you learned about who you are? How do those insights help shape your future decisions going forward? Or maybe they teach you something new about yourself every day. Take some time to figure out what’s causing the pain. What is it pointing towards? How can you ease the pain?

Either way, try not to avoid the uncomfortable moments of life when they come up again – instead welcome them like old friends and see if there’s anything more important than learning from these experiences.

← Previous Next →

Getting More Done In Less Time

May 16, 2021 | 4 comments

Share on:

Have you ever had the experience of working on a task with a month to complete it and yet you complete it just a day before the deadline (at max)?

Well if this has happened with you, know that you’re not alone.

We’ve all spent the majority of our time allotted for a task in finding “inspiration”, choosing the right things, taking enough breaks to retain your creativity (aka procrastinating where we use the breaks to scroll through our phones) and detailing it meticulously. Yet we end up finishing the work just the day before the due date or even less.

However if we are given a fraction of the time for the same task, we are able to complete it just on time then too. We cut out the time for getting inspiration and other filler stuff and jump right into working.

Have you ever thought why is it this way? This is not a coincidence, but it’s because you’re using Parkinson’s Law to your advantage (or rather disadvantage)!

What is Parkinson’s Law?

Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

This means that if you give yourself a certain amount of time to complete some work, you’ll utilise the entire amount for the completion.

In other words, if you’re given tasks and a week’s time to complete them, you’ll get it done in a week. However, if you’re given only four hours in which to complete them then your brain will find any possible way to get all those tasks done in those four hours.

Remember the time, when a month before our exams we divided the thirty chapters as a chapter for every day? But when we didn’t complete them, we redistributed two chapters a day for 15 days? And when that didn’t work out either, we did the entire syllabus in 5 days?

We’ve all used Parkinson’s Law, isn’t it?

This law was given by Cyril Parkinson in 1955 in his book Parkinson’s Law.

Parkinson was British naval historian who spent a large amount of his life with the British Civil Service. He had seen the bureaucracies of the British government who passed on the work from one department to another and always ended up using all the time until the deadline.

He noticed that any amount of time allotted to a project was sufficient for its completion.

It’s a little relieving to know that the British governments had similar patterns of procrastination to mine.

The logic behind Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s Law works not because it is some magical phenomenon but simply because

We tend to have an inflated idea of how long a task is going to take us. This principle is something people don’t come into full realization of, until they test the law.
We always feel like we have plenty of time to do our work and distract ourselves by something more interesting than our work until it’s almost too late and then we panic.
We equate more time given with more effort required. We think if some work has been given a considerable amount of time, it requires great efforts – even when that is not the case.

Applying Parkinson’s Law

So how do you actually use Parkinson’s Law in your daily life to your advantage?

The first and the most basic thing you can start off is by setting your own deadlines for yourself (and here’s the real deal), actually adhering to them.

Consider these deadlines just like your official deadlines – you have no option but to complete your work by then.

Begin my estimating how much time each task will take you to complete. Then go ahead and set the deadline as half of that time.

After doing this multiple times, you’ll either be able to beat the clock and complete some of the tasks on the deadline or even before it; or in some scenarios you’ll take more time than the set deadline.

The straightforward conclusion to this is that previously you had an exaggerated idea of the time required for the tasks you finished before the half deadline, and you knew quite accurately how much time it would take you to complete the task which you weren’t able to complete under the half deadline.

Another hidden benefit of Parkinson’s law is that you learn how to prioritize. When you halve your own deadlines, you sideline all the unimportant and extra parts of your work. You go ahead with all the important things in your mind which leads to more clarity.

Realise that the Parkinson’s Law is a law that applies not only in your professional work, but also in your personal life. Cleaning up your desk, doing the laundry, organising the shelves can also take way more time than acceptable if a deadline is not set.

Bottom Line

Remember that your work stretches on if you don’t set a firm deadline to it. Knowing Parkinson’s Law you can get much more done in the same amount of time.

What is something that you’ve apply the Parkinson’s Law to?

← Previous Next →

The Boy and The Borrowed Cycle

May 9, 2021 | 1 comment

Share on:

Hey!

So it’s mothers’ day and everyones showing their appreciation for their moms and I wanna do that too. However, I couldn’t bring myself to write something about my mother that didn’t sound corny to me. My mom’s great – it’s me who couldn’t write about her. So instead I thought about sharing with you one of the many things I learnt from her and the stories she told me.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Once there were two young boys – Ayan and Nishant – who were friends for a long time now. They would play together everyday and would thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.

On one such bright sunny day, after playing cricket for an hour, they were discussing bicycles while taking a break. As he saw some children making rounds on their bicycles, Ayan talked to Nishant about how wonderful it would feel, just like a bird gliding in the sky, to ride a bicycle, how the wind would brush against the face as he would move through the roads. Ayan told Nishant how much he wanted to ride a bicycle.

Nishant put a hand on Ayan’s shoulder and said, “If that was the case, why didn’t you tell me earlier. I have a bicycle, though i don’t use it much. You can have it for a day and I’ll take it back the next day. Shall I give it to you tomorrow?”

Ayan’s eyes shone with joy and he said, almost pushing back the tears of joy, “Really? That’d be amazing. Thank you so much.”

The next day Ayan was up at 6 in the morning because he couldn’t wait for the cycle.

Nishant came and dropped the cycle at Ayan’s house at around 8.

“I’ll come back tomorrow morning – same time. Have fun, bye.”

Ayan dashed outside with the bicycle.

He rode it all day long. He sailed past the pedestrians. The trees moved past him and he just loved bicycling from the bottom of his heart.

As the sun set, Ayan began to feel a little gloomy because he knew he had to be home and then the next day he would have to return the bicycle. He already knew he was going to miss it.

Ayan woke up the next morning, not willing but accepting the fact that he had to return the bicycle. He awaited for Nishant to come at 8 as he had promised.

But he didn’t show up. Ayan decided to wait for some hours till 10 am but there was no sign of Nishant. The clock ticked through the entire afternoon and evening, yet Nishant didn’t come.

Ultimately Ayan thought that Nishant wouldn’t come that day and decided to go to bed.

The following day Nishant came right on time.

Ayan smiled and said, “Thank you so much. It was amazing to ride a bicycle.”

Nishant replied, “My pleasure. You can tell me anytime you want to ride a bicycle, I’ll lend it to you.”

Just as Nishant was sitting on the bicycle, Ayan spoke up.

“Um… I just wanted to ask something. You were supposed to take back the bicycle yesterday, but you didn’t come. Why so?”

“Oh yeah that. I had gone to my grandparents’ house in the morning and I returned in the afternoon. You really loved riding the bicycle so you must have already been riding it since I didn’t come so I thought let it be with you for a few more hours. It didn’t really make much of a difference to me anyways.”

Saying that, Nishant left.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

After I heard this story, all I could do was imagine Ayan’s plight. Poor guy had the bicycle but still didn’t ride. All because he stopped cycling in the anticipation of the fact that he has to return it.

How often do we tend to do the same?

Haven’t we all stopped enjoying something because we felt that it was going to end? Or not enjoying something till it’s end?

We must cherish the things we have, till the time we have them.

Not enjoying something before the event is actually over is a blunder. If you do this, then you’re your own reason for misery.

Let us not get our future in the way of our present.

Thank you Mumma for making me realise this 🙂

Happy Mothers’ Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!

← Previous Next →