Getting Things Done With the 2 Minute Rule

It’s the little things in life that often frustrate my efforts to be productive. Email, snail mail, phone calls, and items not put in their proper place all slow me down.

I’ve developed what I like to call the 2 Minute Rule. If accomplishing a task will take 2 minutes or less, then I try to do it right then instead of scheduling a time to take care of it later.

Here are a few examples:

When reading through my email each morning, I decide what to do with each email immediately. I either delete it, file it, or mark it for action. If the action just requires a quick response, I do it right then. I only mark the emails that may take a longer time to answer. (I’ll share how I manage my email in a later post.)

Most of the mail we receive these days are bills or junk mail. When the mail arrives, I open and toss any junk mail that I can. If it is an invitation or information about an event I want to attend, I mark down the pertinent info in my planner. Usually I toss the invitation, but on occasion I file it away in my mailbox in our laundry room. That way I can refer to it if I’m unsure about something.

Sometimes I need to make an appointment with my doctor, hair stylist, dentist, or some other service professional. Those phone calls take very little time to make, so I try to take care of them as soon as possible. I have very few of these to make during any given month, so I don’t worry about scheduling a time to take care of them. I just make the calls.

I’m really trying to get into the habit of always putting things back where they belong. Mainly this would be craft supplies or things that need to go upstairs in our home. I try to take something with me to put away each time I leave a room. Instead of scheduling time each day to take care of putting these things away, I work on it a little bit each day.

I have found over time that going ahead and taking care of small tasks instead of putting them off to a later time has saved me time, money, and my sanity.

How do you get things done?