The 5 Minute Method for Getting Started
Many of us (me, Future Tutor’s Founder, included) struggle with getting started on work or study tasks that we’re not looking forward to. There’s a method to help you not only get started in the short term, but also train our brains to be better at starting tasks in the long run. This method has truly transformed some stressful times in my life.
The 5 Minute Method
When a task seems too daunting, unpleasant or tiring to start tell yourself this — “I just want to do 5 minutes of it.”
You could do 5 minutes of just about anything, right? Could you run for 5 minutes, read a book for 5 minutes, or even do a sudoku for 5 minutes? Most people say that 5 minutes is a short enough time that they can grit their teeth and get through whatever is they don’t want to do.
Some students still might think (or find out after trying) that they can’t make themselves do even 5 minutes of study. If so, reduce the time until you really can get yourself to do it. 3 minutes? 1 minute? 30 seconds? Even just copying the question from the textbook to your notebook is a task worth doing. Any tiny amount of work that you do is infinitely better than doing nothing at all.
That’s (almost) all of it! When you know you want to use the present moment to do some study but you’re struggling to get started, tell yourself that you just want to do 5 minutes. Then you can relax, proud and guilt free afterwards.
Just 5 minutes.
Benefits
The benefits of the 5 Minute Method go well beyond the 5 minute intervals of work. For most of us, starting is the hardest part and after doing 5 minutes of work we find ourselves happy to sit and do a bit more! If your 5 minutes ever stretches to become 10 minutes or even an hour you start to feel like a productivity hero. By promising ourselves a small but measurable success, we can use the happiness of our quick victory to propel us further. Crucially, however, you need to really be okay with only doing 5 minutes. Pretending you’re aiming for 5 but really aiming for 60 won’t work at all. 5 is a lot more than 0 — 5 minutes of work when you really don’t want to do it is a triumph.
Long-term, this strategy trains our brains to be better at starting tasks. When we give in to an aversion our brain uses this as confirmation that we should avoid that action in the future. Imagine standing on the ledge of a high platform. Most of us find that frightening and want to move away. That’s a reflex we have taught ourselves since we were little kids. Unfortunately, the same thing can happen with school work. By getting close to starting (the edge) and then avoiding our work (moving away) our brains learn to send stronger and stronger signals telling us to avoid the threat. Luckily this effect is reversible. By the act of starting and quickly giving our brain the feeling of success we teach it not to fear the task at hand. Over time starting work will become easier and easier.
Your Tutor Can Help
Sometimes this knowledge isn’t enough and we need help from a mentor. If you have trouble with starting, ask your tutor to coach you through this method. This can be a great way to translate study skills from within tutoring lessons to your own private study.