Short Productivity Advice

David Allen popularized this rule in his best selling book Getting Things Done.

the 2 minute rule is one of the most straightforward productivity tips there is,
something you can start using right now, today,
it simply states:

“If an action will take less than two minutes, it should be done at the moment it’s defined.”

done.

examples:

1. you’re glancing over your emails while working on something else (you know you shouldn’t, but… here you are) when you spot an email that requires a very easy and clear answer, something that would use 30 seconds and 2.5 breaths to respond. do it now.
2. you’re on a call, waiting on hold, when you remember you forgot to tell your spouse you’ll be staying late at the office (again) do it now.
3. you saw a post on Instagram about the benefits of taking deep breaths, do it now.

yes, it’s disruptive,
yes, it’s shallow work,
yes, these are lowish value activities;

however, if not addressed right away, they have the potential to cause substantial drag on your time and attention.

the reason why the 2 minute rule works so well is because it skips the decision making process and saves you the time you’d need to organize, review and finish the task later.

if you don’t close the loop right away,
that 30 second email has the potential to leave substantial attention residue in its wake, causing anxiety, dread and rumination,

do it now.

to implement the 2 minute rule correctly, make sure you’re applying it during your processing time.

this is a time specifically dedicated to planning, collecting information and processing it.

if used at the wrong time, the 2 minute rule can have the opposite effect and derail productivity.

meaning…

checking emails during a time of substantial cognitive load = bad.

answering emails during a time of substantial cognitive load = worse.

don’t do it now.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 252 of the year, there are 113 days remaining of 2022.

so you’re watching a wellness documentary on Netflix, when this high profile coach comes on and starts talking about the many wonders of doing push-ups, “if you can only do one exercise a day, and one thing only” they say with great importance “do push-ups.”

“done!” you think, “from now on I’m doing 10 push-ups a day!”
“…starting tomorrow”

perfect, the ego gremlin has been fed,
aren’t you such a decisive, health conscious person?
if only more people did push-ups.

the next day comes around and you do your 10 push-ups,
the second day comes around and you do another 10 push-ups,
by the fourth day you tell yourself that you probably should take a break.
and by the tenth day you vaguely remember having started this push-up challenge in the first place.

sounds familiar?

if you’re the kind of person that excels at quitting habits, stick around, I’m going to teach you how you can achieve anything.

my credentials are that I run on mountains, for “fun.”

in order to achieve anything, you only have to do one thing:

understand the relationship between discipline and motivation, and use it to your advantage.

say you wanted to pick up running…

I could tell you all about social apps dedicated to running, I could tell you about downloadable immersive stories that keep you engaged, I could even tell you about supplements.

they’re all great, but they only address half the problem.

I would not have been running for as long as I have, relying on my motivation alone.

it’s like waiting on planets to be in the right conjunction, highly unreliable.

motivation can not convince me to get laced up when it’s pouring rain outside and I would much rather stay inside.

and it will most definitely not convince me to come home at a reasonable hour because I have to run early next day.

discipline will.

over time, maintaining your discipline will become a new source of motivation, you will be motivated to stay disciplined.

discipline => motivation => discipline

you can, and should, white knuckle your way with motivation when it comes to goals that have a relatively short feedback loop: run a 5k, a 10k, a half, a marathon, different trails, beat your PR, do it blindfolded…

you need short, focused goals for motivation, and the discipline to stay on track and actually achieve them.

discipline without motivation would in time, become a burden that would eventually wear you down.
you need these quick rewards to keep it fun and enjoyable.

in layman’s terms:
motivation without discipline is unreliable.
discipline without motivation is boring.

if you have absolutely no interest in picking up running (can’t really say I blame you,) here’s a real and actionable way for you to use this new found knowledge.

losing weight, a pain point that’s made a lot of businesses a LOT of money.

most people already know you need better habits in order to lose weight,
eat less, exercise more, it truly is not rocket science.

so why do we fail to lose weight?

it’s actually very simple,
we’ve built these images in our head of what we want to look like, lean muscles, glowing skin, 9 abs,
but there’s too much time and mental distance involved to use as motivation.

in order to succeed you have to:
A. create smaller, more attainable goals for motivation.
B. discipline.

what’s easy to do is also easy not to do.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 243 of the year, there are 122 days remaining of 2022.

I like cooking but I hate to cook,
if that makes sense?

I like to chop, stir and taste, especially to taste.

I like the smell,
and the theatricality of throwing a kitchen rag over your shoulder to check on the oven.

I like playing that game at the table, where you’re forcing the other person to guess the ingredients?

“nope, it’s not thyme, try again babe, you made that joke last time”

but I hate to cook.

I particularly hate waiting.

what do I do with all of that passive time between the chopping and the checking and the tasing? (especially the tasting)

wait for another line to appear around my eyes?

why spend 2 hours cooking something that’s going to take you 2 minutes to chew? it’s highly impractical.

so anyway.

yesterday I spent 2 hours writing 520 words,

they were good words, great words even.

I wrote and re-wrote, wrote and re-wrote, wrote and re-wrote…

for the person that never asked, that’s 15 seconds per word, highly impractical.

I spent 2 hours writing a 2 minute read.

I might as well have spent my time saving fish from drowning.

It takes courage not to be discouraged.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 242 of the year, there are 123 days remaining of 2022

I wonder if this is what they mean when they talk about being in line with your higher self…

I guess it’s one of those things you don’t realize is happening until it’s passed,
like a lightning, or a silent heart attack.

for the last few months I’ve been particularly productive and fabulously creative,
(the pickings, the braincrumbs newsletter and a big secret goal are testament to that)

and while I can certainly look back and highlight a few trigger points,
I know which was the first domino piece to have fallen…

clarity.

like a dog that doesn’t stop to think what will happen if he catches the car,
I used to run and bark furiously without question, only because I knew I had to,
I enjoy being part of the pack, you see (pun fully intended)

and even though I deep down knew that keeping myself busy with shallow work was just a guise for avoiding a few critically important, but uncomfortable actions,
I kept doing it.

again and again and again…

I had reached a point in which I felt as if I was constantly lagging behind myself,
thoughts going in one direction, steps in another.

incapable of making a sure move…

yet here I am today, having swam to the other shore, flush with inspiration and the energy to create.

how fertile this time has been for me.

above all else, I wish you clarity.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 228 of the year, there are 139 days remaining of 2022.

have you ever read a 300+ page book that could have easily been summarized in 3 paragraphs?

if so, have you ever wondered:
what is the point of all of the other 299 pages?
is it all just… fluff?
an exercise in creative writing?
an attempt to build rapport?
a desire to waste my time?!

is everything else meant to get lost in the fog of recollection?

you’re not alone,
I have also sat (impatiently) through many words, grabbing hold of my emotional support glass of wine, waiting for it to
A) get to the point
or B) end the point.

why?

Tools of Titans was the book that put this philosophical line of inquiry to rest.

if you’re not familiar with the book,
it’s a collection of 300+ interview summaries by some of the most inspirational and successful people in the world.
everything is divided into health, wealth and wisdom.

out of the 300 interviews,
5% were life changing
10% were highly actionable
25% were interesting
some were basic and however many percents were meh.

FOR ME.
32 year old Bianca, currently breathing the air in Bucovina, going through MY lives’ ebbs and flows.

even when all readers can collectively agree on the central idea that the author wants to convey in a book…

you don’t know which page’s argument is going to cause that penny drop.

the author is simply trying to cover all bases,
address as many objections as possible,
and repeat the points they find most valuable.

and while you’re sat there thinking “I have never seen a deader horse,”
that argument can be the argument that pushes the needle for your neighbor down the street.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 227 of the year, there are 140 days remaining of 2022.

I first read about the 1% rule back in 2013, in James Altucher’s book Choose Yourself,

since then it’s become a widely accepted and celebrated concept in the productivity space, with James Clear leading the conversation (read Atomic Habits to learn more about tiny gains)

the concept is simple,
become 1% better by improving a little each day.

there’s two reasons why this works so well:

1. by giving yourself permission to improve, you build momentum, which will feed the need to keep improving
2. by becoming marginally better every day, it compounds to the point that if you were to be consistent over the course of a year, you will end up 37 times better by the time you’re done (I shamelessly copied the math from James’s website here)

you can apply this concept to literally any habit or skill you can think of,

get creative with it, what is the absolute bear minimum you can do to become marginally better?

floss one tooth?
take one deep breath?
write one sentence a day?

intensity makes a good story,
consistency makes progress.

bonus!

if you’re like me and slowly compounding progress isn’t good enough of a motivator,
I occasionally tap into my competitive mindset and remind myself that,
everyone is already doing 100% of what they are,
if you want more, you have to become more.

101%

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 224 of the year, there are 143 days remaining of 2022.

just because you’re smart, beautiful and young,
just because you work hard,
just because you’re privileged, able bodied, European or American,
just because you believe, you go to church, you read a lot,
just because you have a strong social network, and have a lot of online followers,
just because you wake up early in the morning and go to sleep late at night,
just because you want it,

just because…
is not enough.

how are you going to get there?

what is your plan?

I’ll see you tomorrow

today is day 216 of the year, there are 151 days remaining of 2022

a quick peruse through my goodreads history will show you that I primarily read non-fiction,

marketing, business, biographies, self help…

how boring.

in an effort to:

1. nurture my creativity,
2. improve my writing prowess,
3. letting my mind drift without purpose;

I began the year with a forceful effort to read more fiction.

I wrote my first post on the 22nd of June 2022,
this is post #27,
you could say it’s going well.

were I to have found the patience to read fiction in the spirit in which it asks to be read, I would have done this sooner.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 215 of the year, there are 152 days remaining of 2022.

the difference between you “could do that” and someone else that’s actually done that, is simply…
they’ve done it, and not you.

between all of the lengthy analogies, unrelatable stories and few actionable advice, at the core of every productivity self help book ever, lays the ultimate secret:
just do the fucking thing.

screw motivation, what you need is discipline.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 202 of the year, there are 163 days remaining of 2022.

I think about death all the time.

stoically, not… morbidly (most days at least)

it’s the reason I write the daily countdown at the end of every picking,
a reminder to myself (and now, you) to live every day as if it’s your last day on earth,
one day that will be true.

we were squeezed into existence by a flicker of chance,
on a land that offered us everything…

to wake up breathing the same air you went to sleep with, is a gift beyond human comprehension,
and so I feel compelled, every day, to make the most of it.

Derek Sivers said it so well:
“A lot of people die with things still inside of them.”

I want to go as far as my legs will take me,
think as deeply as my experiences will allow me,
and create until there’s nothing else to give it.

I want to die empty.

today is day 201 of the year, there are 164 days remaining of 2022.