It's a warm and sunny spring day. You've already finished your tasks for the week and are excited to leave work early this Friday to enjoy the weather in the park with friends.

As soon as you get home, you remember you need to shop for the weekend. You consider putting it off until tomorrow, even though your day is already planned. You decide to postpone it, knowing you'll likely rush to the store at the last minute. This thought stresses you out, and you're already annoyed at yourself for procrastinating again instead of getting it done right away.

But don't worry. You're not alone with your "procrastination" (procrastination). Many people struggle to motivate themselves.

Humans are creatures of habit. Our daily lives consist of 40% routines that we perform unconsciously. Whether it's getting dressed, brushing teeth, or commuting to work, we don't think about these things; we just do them.

So why is it so hard to get things done right away? Why do we put dishes on the counter instead of in the dishwasher? Why do we leave our shoes in front of the shoe rack after taking them off?

These are bad habits we've "trained" ourselves to do over time. They also become routines that are hard to break.

The 5-Second Rule is designed to help us break bad habits and tackle tasks we usually postpone.

What is the 5-Second Rule?

American author and motivational speaker Melanie Robbins invented the so-called 5-Second Rule. According to Robbins, the impulse to do something fades if we don't physically move within 5 seconds.

Imagine sitting in your kitchen, scrolling through social media on your phone. Suddenly, you remember you need to take out the trash. The longer you think about it, the less motivated you are to do it. Instead, count to five in your head and act on your thought immediately.

Counting to five activates the part of our brain responsible for conscious decisions, tricking our inner slacker. This leads us to make a conscious choice.

We try this with every idea that comes to mind, and with practice, bad habits can turn into good ones over time. Acting on our ideas immediately brings positive feelings. The more we use the 5-Second Rule, the easier tasks become.

Use Cases

The advantage of the 5-Second Rule is that we can use it anywhere, both in daily life and at work.

• You should mow the lawn instead of lying in the sun. Count to 5 and start.
• Want to book a training course? Count to 5 and book it.
• Planning to go to the gym? Count to 5 and head out.
• Avoiding a call to a difficult client? Set a countdown to 5 and pick up the phone.

Conclusion

With the help of the 5-Second Rule, we can adopt new, good routines and prevent procrastination. Plus, it feels great to get things done right away. I should probably do the laundry...