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Follow Through

How do I stay consistent when life is chaotic?

Shrink the start. My 5-Minute Rule, and why it works when nothing else does.

By Donna MarieOctober 21, 20262 min read
A hand pressing the start button on a small kitchen timer beside a closed laptop and an open notebook

You stay consistent in a chaotic life by making the start so small that chaos can't stop it. Five minutes, every day, beats a perfect plan you only follow on good days.

I teach this as the 5-Minute Rule. Set a timer for 5 minutes and cut out all distractions. Push past the mental block of feeling overwhelmed and not starting. If you get at least 5 minutes done, at least you started, and you can flow into a 30-minute session from there.

If you get at least 5 minutes done, at least you started.

Donna Marie

Why does it work? Because most of the time the hard part is the feeling right before you start. Researchers who study procrastination describe it as a way of managing a bad mood in the moment: we put off the task to get away from how the task makes us feel (Sirois and Pychyl, 2013). Five minutes is short enough that the bad feeling loses its grip.

The second piece is deciding ahead of time. When you plan the exact when and where, like "after I pour my coffee, I open my laptop and work on the proposal for 5 minutes," you're far more likely to follow through. A large review of studies on these if-then plans found they help people reach their goals (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006).

The third piece is people. Chaos is easier to push through when someone is expecting you. That's why my Academy meets Monday to Friday at 5:50 AM. Nobody has to be perfect. We just show up, side by side, and the first 30 minutes are dedicated work time.

Write your if-then plan on a sticky note and put it where you'll see it tomorrow.

Here's your plan for this week. Pick one goal. Write one if-then sentence for it. Set a 5-minute timer every day at that time. On the days you keep going past five minutes, wonderful. On the days you stop at five, you still kept your promise. That's consistency.

Curious which part of your garden is pulling your consistency down? The Find Your Garden quiz takes about 90 seconds.

Quick answers

What is the 5-Minute Rule?

Set a timer for 5 minutes, cut out distractions and start. If you get 5 minutes done, you started, and you can flow into a longer session from there.

What if I only ever do 5 minutes?

Then you kept your promise every day. Small and steady builds trust with yourself, and that trust makes longer sessions easier.

Sources

  1. Sirois, F. and Pychyl, T. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
  2. Gollwitzer, P. M. and Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: a meta-analysis. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.
Find your garden

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Letters from the garden

Short notes from me, about once a month. New events first, real talk always.