Your to-do list is overflowing, and you feel guilty every hour. It is imperative that you study and absorb the lecture material as quickly as possible. So far you have successfully postponed even the smallest learning unit and avoided your tasks; But not anymore!

You are determined and put yourself under pressure: If you don’t start now, then… You want to force yourself to start – you have to get going somehow. But it doesn’t work. Pressure doesn’t seem to be the best tool for you right now.

Don’t worry, in that case, I can help you. Or rather: I’ll show you how you can help yourself. And with a simple method that you can use whenever you find it difficult to start a new task – the five-minute rule.

What Is The Five Minute Rule?

The five-minute rule is a little psychological trick that can help you overcome your initial difficulties. In almost all tasks, the beginning is the most difficult step – once you have overcome this, it is much easier to move forward. And this method will help you with that:

With the five-minute rule, you set a small, specific task and work on it for just five minutes. Then you stop and decide whether you want to continue or not. If after five minutes you absolutely don’t feel like it anymore, just stop and do something else or start again later.

But the trick is that you probably won’t pull away after five minutes. Most of them think: “Now I’ve started once, then I can continue.”

Why Does The Five Minute Rule Work So Well For Students?

The five-minute rule works particularly well for large and annoying tasks. The procedure is similar to that of the first-brick method: a small and simple initial action will get you going and won’t let you be put off by your big challenge.

Stressful and time-consuming tasks that you don’t want to don’t seem so bad if you only have to deal with them for five minutes. And that’s why this method is particularly well suited for students who suffer from a chronic lack of time and have rather complex tasks in front of their chests. Another useful tip – if you consistently lack time to complete your written assignments you might consider using the help of an essay writing service.

Also, the five-minute rule gets you thinking about the structure and division of your “project”: What are the individual steps? What’s the best way to go about it? How can tasks be broken down and completed as quickly as possible?

What Are The Benefits Of The Five Minute Rule?

The five-Minute Rule changes the way you approach uncomfortable tasks and protects you from procrastinating too much—without having to push yourself hard.

These are the five biggest advantages of this method:

1. It’s much easier to get started on a task because you only have to engage in it for five minutes.

2. You feel less inner resistance and make fewer excuses.

3. You’re never too busy and always find five minutes to do something.

4. You can stop after five minutes if you want and don’t feel guilty about it.

5. You automatically structure your work better and break down your task into small steps.

It will be much easier for you to overcome big hurdles if you stick to the five-minute rule. You hardly have to overcome yourself and you will – thanks to the small five-minute barrier in your head – approach new tasks in a much more motivated and productive manner.

How To Use The Five-Minute Rule When Studying?

You can apply the five-minute rule to all areas of your student life. Just follow these five steps:

• Step 1: Choose a task!

• Step 2: Set your goal!

• Step 3: Break up your task!

• Step 4: Determine the first step!

• Step 5: Work on this first step for five minutes!

Set a timer for five minutes and start right away. Just do it and then decide if you want to continue or stop.

Conclusion

The five-minute rule is a simple and practical way to stop procrastination. It makes it easier for you to start with annoying tasks and paves the way for a productive work rhythm.

You always have five minutes. And you can also deal with an annoying task for five minutes. What comes after that remains to be seen? In any case, you don’t have a lot of pressure – and that’s quite pleasant for a change. Or not?

And now: start! Only for five minutes.