Does this sound familiar? I need to start exercising. I should start meditating again. I'd read more if I could find the time. I want to learn to play the guitar. I am guessing you have similar things that you want to do or accomplish or learn.
I started my own weekly holiday and called it 2-Minute Tuesday or #anti-procrastination day. Its main purpose was to help motivate me with something I was procrastinating about or with tasks that seemed overwhelming. At the beginning of quarantine 2020, I found myself extremely motivated to improve aspects of my life. I did a 10,000 step challenge in April, embarked on a no-sugar challenge for May, and decluttered during the month of June. Then July hit and all of these 30-day challenges seemed both unsustainable and overwhelming and the 2-Minute Tuesday habit was born.
Let's be honest: a 2-minute habit isn't enough to turn you into an Olympic athlete or make you a world-class guitar player. But that doesn't mean it's not powerful. I find that it transforms my mindset and establishes a consistent, frequent habit. It is enough to get me started and is incredibly doable.
Step #1 for Creating a 2-Minute Habit: Make it Simple
Choose just one thing to start with and make it so simple that you don't even have to think about it. I ride my stationary bike for 2 minutes. That's it (although sometimes I find myself at 3 minutes). And I do it while my coffee is brewing. Coffee as a reward happens to be a happy by-product.
Step #2 for Creating a 2-Minute Habit: Make it Consistent
I am riding my stationary bike every morning and will report back when I feel it becomes a habit like brushing my teeth or getting dressed in the morning. In James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, he mentions that if you miss a day, just get back to it the next day otherwise you are creating a new habit of not doing the new activity.
I would love to know: what new habits are you excited to develop in 2 minutes?