The 2-minute principle

Many know the story about America’s former president Abraham Lincoln’s famous method of being calm and composed at most times - if not, search “Never sent and never signed. ” The way he did this was simple. If he got infuriated by anyone’s actions, he’d write a letter venting all his anger. Once done, he’d put it away in a drawer. And then he’d wake up the next day (or after a few hours - in short, give it some time) and reread the letter to decide if he wanted to send the letter or throw it away. It turns out, he’d not send most of them. And to me, this is not a surprise, we mostly say awful things and later regret saying the things we do.

Anyways, I slightly tweaked this idea to solve my problems, and I believe many have these problems and would resonate with them.

  • mindlessly watching youtube videos
  • binge watching seasons of
  • infinitely scroll social media feeds
  • working on something and suddenly out of nowhere, a google search and end up endlessly scrolling

And this list goes on.

It turns out, once you get into the act, it’s very difficult to stop. The apps and systems are so designed to take the juice out of your brain and make you keep doing the same thing till you’re tired - which by the way you don’t feel. So, it’s very difficult to get out of this Chakravyuha and there are no straightforward strategies either. However, if you don’t start it or make it difficult to start it in the first place, you might be able to save yourself. I term it “the trigger”.

Now, it’s important to understand the triggers. If you read a combination of books that I really like - “Atomic Habits” by “James Clear” and “Deep Work” by “Cal Newport” and maybe “A mind for numbers” by “Barbara Oakley”, you’d understand that there are triggers that entice you to give in to your cravings. Let me give some examples and scenarios.

  • I start by watching a video about how caffeine affects sleep - I believe this is a good video and I’ve stopped consuming caffeine after 1 PM as a result.
  • Now, from there, there is a recommendation for a video about the best type of coffee - the trigger
  • Next, once I’ve figured out what the best type of coffee is, there is a recommendation for the best espresso machines on the market, because how can you be a coffee lover and not have a fancy expresso machine? A Simple Indian Coffee Filter doesn’t work!
  • A few scrolls down the line, you’re watching how to cook “Mutton Dum Biryani” without a handi and this never ends because you need to know all the spices, and then their health benefits, and then about your micro and macronutrient needs and then supplements and …. you get the point!

How could I have applied the 2-minute principle?

I started by watching a video about the effects of caffeine. Once I’m done, I should have stopped there and things would have been great, I would’ve saved a lot of time. Although, as you guessed, it’s not that simple. As we are told, “If it was easy, everyone would do it. ” So, I introduce the 2-minute principle. Before I check the video about the best coffees, I take a 2-minute break, and here is what I do. I ask these questions to myself.

  • Is this activity a must or an impulsive decision? Remember, I decided to get on youtube to find “the effects of caffeine on sleep”.
  • Does this help me complete my today’s tasks? Or will it take my time away?
  • Will I be happy about this when my new year’s resolutions are crushed?

It’s sad because there is no magic here!

I’m sure it’s frustrating at this point because, “duh, we know this already!” And truth be told; it is common knowledge. So, the exceptional thing is not the quality of the questions. Although for some it might be - because motivation could work sometimes. But for most of us, or at least for me, the game changer is the time I waited before taking the decision to watch a video. This pause, when I might have had a glass of water, sat eyes closed, etc was the time when I avoided the trigger and when I came back to my screen, something inside me (not my soul, common!) said, “Maybe, I don’t want to watch this video anymore. ” OR “Okay, not interested, got some other work to do. ”

It works for me, not always, but more often than not. Simple things work, not always, but most of the time. I think, the exceptional list of protocols that one designs for extreme, ruthless productivity; doesn’t exist. This notion of; I got solutions to all your problems is very dangerous and is outright stupid. I still end up in the rabbit hole, but occurrences have reduced - thanks to the 2-minute principle; and I am very happy about it. Having said that, this has worked for me, if it doesn’t work for you, you should throw it in the dustbin.