the 15-minute rule

We all are well aware of how our motivation wanes as the day progresses. After a point of time, caffeine loses its effect and then it’s up to us to push ourselves and get things done. 

When it comes to the tasks that need to be done at work, we know we have good reasons to do them. They help us pay our bills, live well, and enjoy the good things in life. However, when it comes to finishing the monotonous and mundane tasks at home, we keep running away from them. Who wants to fold laundry, clean dishes, and organize papers and receipts after a long, hard day at the office, right?

In her book, Happier at Home, Gretchen Rubin introduces us to a simple strategy to overcome procrastination and get things done. She calls it the 15-minute rule. 

We can accomplish quite a bit in 15 minutes. And we all have windows of opportunities to get ourselves those 15 minutes, whether it be while commuting, waiting for an appointment, or between meetings. Instead of wasting our time on our phones and other pointless things, we can use that time productively. 

Commit to working on a task that you have been putting off for a long time for just 15 minutes without any distractions or interruptions. When the timer rings, you’re done. Stop and don’t allow yourself to work any longer. Now do this every single day of the week, and monitor your progress. Easy peasy. 

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much you can get done by employing this simple rule in your daily life.