A reader recently asked me about procrastination, and I pointed them to this article about The 5-Minute Rule.

There are many activities in life that are worth doing but that aren’t always easy to get started. A few things that come to mind for me include:

• Cleaning up the house at the end of the day
• Starting a workout
• Writing
• Reading a book

When it’s time to do one of these activities, and I don’t feel like it, then I will commit to 5 minutes.

I’ll spend 5 minutes putting away the dishes; 5 minutes warming up; or 5 minutes writing whatever crappy prose comes to mind.

Then, after those first 5 minutes, if I’m still not into it I give myself permission to move on to something else. But most of the time, it only takes a few minutes for the momentum to kick in.