Hang up your coat, wash your mug, answer that message you’ve been putting off. Anything that takes under two minutes gets done there and then, without writing it down or putting it off. It’s a classic productivity rule that works just as well for wellbeing.
Did you know? The rule was popularised by David Allen in his GTD method (2001): if something takes less than two minutes, doing it now costs less than writing it down, remembering it and coming back to it later.
The benefit isn’t just tidiness: it’s no longer carrying around dozens of little pending jobs that take up mental space. Every small thing you sort out on the spot is one less thing buzzing around your head at the end of the day.
Start today: the next thing that takes under two minutes, do it there and then. Notice how it disappears from your head.