Use the two-minute rule to establish habits for difficult activities.
from Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
The secret to establishing habits for difficult activities like going to the gym or studying hard is establishing simple habits, over time, that will eventually get you to the more difficult activities. These simple habits should take less than two minutes and be easy to do. So instead of reading a chapter, read a page. Instead of doing a full workout, take your gym stuff and leave the house. Instead of running a marathon, wear running shoes.
How to Apply This
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Define the entry ritual for the difficult activity.
Every activity has some ritual. It has to be easy and take less than two minutes. For example, wearing shoes or reading one page. -
If the activity is difficult for you, only do it for 2-5 minutes.
Don’t force yourself at the beginning. The most important element is to establish a habit. Five minutes at the gym will not change your body shape, but once you establish the habit, you will start staying in the gym much longer. -
If the activity is super difficult, establish the habit in steps.
For example, if you want to eat healthily, the first step is to add vegetables to each meal. The second step is to stop eating animals with four legs. The third step is to stop eating animals with two legs. And so on.
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