Have you wondered if there could be a simple technique to help you take action before you procrastinate or get distracted? Try this 5 second rule that can help change your life.
It would not be surprising to hear and have experienced times when we needed to do something like wake up but continued snoozing. Everyone has done it at some point. Even if you didn’t yet, this experience would probably come at another time. After all, we sometimes get tempted to procrastinate and be distracted from completing a task or achieving goals. Therefore, it can be essential to know about some techniques which would help you, such as the 5 second rule that can help change your life.
When you have consistent unconscious and conscious, procrastination can become more frequent and even habitual. You may find the constant procrastination quite problematic and limit you in numerous ways, especially when trying to take action and get things done. Also, you might have realised that delaying something you need to or should be doing doesn’t often make things easier as you usually spend time worrying and getting stressed. The negative repercussions can cause another issue. So, here is a simple technique called the 5 second rule that can help change your life.
What Is The 5 Second Rule?
Mel Robbins devised the 5 second rule. An American lawyer turned self-help author known for writing a book about the 5 second rule. Generally, the 5 second rule can be considered a simple technique. It focuses on the concept that when you have the instinct to do something, you need to move within 5 seconds physically, or your brain lets it go. So, you would use the 5 second rule as soon as you feel an instinct or desire to act on a goal and commitment. You could say the catch is that when you feel hesitant or tempted to procrastinate, you count backwards 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and go forward with the action.
Often when we delay doing things, there can be a tendency to do something else or make reasons not to do it and have other thoughts. For instance, when you avoid falling asleep earlier because you want to watch a movie and not study to play a new game. Therefore, when you begin counting, it can allow you to reduce the chance of you thinking about an excuse and lead you to focus more on the goal. Essentially, you can think of the 5 second rule as a technique or brain hack to depend on you better from sabotaging yourself.
How The 5 Second Rule Can Help
The 5 second rule can be a straightforward technique with a simple process. It involves counting from 5 to 1 backwards and acting straight away at the end of the count. Doing so helps you to close the gap in your mind creating a reason not to take action. When time passes, your mind can often persuade you not to continue or procrastinate to do something else. You could say the counting acts like a ritual to help you act while defending you from self-sabotage which may happen.
Surprisingly, the 5 second rule that can help change your life focuses more on how motivation doesn’t always need to be the driver for you to take action. However, you could consider the concept not all incorrect. If you think about the times when you lacked motivation, you might have delayed the things you should or needed to have completed. After all, sometimes, when you wait for motivation and the right time, you may be unable to finish anything. Although, you could consider that you are using a motivation to create action. Generally, the 5 second rule aims to help you use a bit of force to take action within the short time window.
If you are interested in learning more about the 5 second rule:
This is the book called ‘The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage’ by Mel Robbins.
How You Can Use The 5 Second Rule
One key aim of the 5 second rule is to interrupt the usual cycle of your mind’s thought pattern when acting on things or making decisions. Frequently, when we face something we should or need to finish, we tend to make reasons or excuses to delay completing them and even not do it at all. Sometimes, this can happen regardless of whether doing them could bring benefits and whether you need to finish them. Often everyone goes through the phases of procrastinating and being distracted from time to time but knowing about the 5 second rule that can help change your life would provide support.
So, when you feel that you are going to procrastinate or need to do something, in particular, use the 5 second rule. You can count backwards 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and act at the end of the countdown to reduce the chance of possibly self-sabotaging and not doing things. Also, this technique can be flexible, whether for simple tasks like waking up after pressing the snooze button on your alarm or more complex ones such as cooking meals. After all, if you were to try living a lifestyle you want, it can be crucial for you to be doing what you like.
The 5 second rule can be a simple technique and works within a short time. However, yet pretty helpful when you need to take action and complete things you should be doing. Although everyone can go through the phases of procrastination and getting distracted, it would be essential to know about techniques that work for you to refocus on your goals. Not doing and having consistent unconscious and conscious procrastination can become more frequent and even habitual, which may cause greater problems, including self-sabotaging your success.
Therefore, try this 5 second rule that can help change your life, especially if you haven’t found a technique that works in helping you refocus on tasks yet. Who knows if this technique might be the one you have been trying to find, and it may help you to break the limits that came under constant distraction. After all, the 5 second rule can also be pretty flexible for various uses, whether simple or complex tasks and projects. Try simply counting backwards from 5 to 1 and acting at the end of the countdown.