Today, I learnt the name of a hack I have used for the longest time. It is called the 5-minute rule.

I procrastinate whenever I overestimate the time it takes to do a task. To crack this, I tell myself, “I will do this for 5 minutes, and stop if I still feel drained by it.”

I am always amazed at how a task shrinks when I just commit 5 minutes to it. 5 minutes is all it takes for me to overcome inertia.

After 5 minutes, the zeigarnik effect takes over. An incomplete or unfinished task is harder to shake off than a task that was not started.

I am thankful for hacks, and the people who graciously share them.