13 How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the Two-Minute Rule

如何运用两分钟法则来停止拖延

TWYLA THARP IS widely regarded as one of the greatest dancers and choreographers of the modern era. In 1992, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the Genius Grant, and she

特怀拉·撒普被公认为现代最伟大的舞蹈家和编舞家之一。1992年，她被授予麦克阿瑟奖天才奖，通常被称为天才奖

has spent the bulk of her career touring the globe to perform her original works. She also credits much of her success to simple daily habits.

在她的职业生涯中，大部分时间都在全球巡回演出她的原创作品。她还将自己的成功归功于简单的日常习惯。

“I begin each day of my life with a ritual,” she writes. “I wake up at 5:30 A.M., put on my workout clothes, my leg warmers, my sweat shirt, and my hat. I walk outside my Manhattan home, hail a taxi, and tell the driver to take me to the Pumping Iron gym at 91st Street and First Avenue, where I work out for two hours. Avenue, where I work out for two hours.

她写道:“我的每一天都是以一种仪式开始的。”。“我在早上5:30醒来，穿上运动服，护腿，运动衫,我走出曼哈顿的家，招呼了一辆出租车，然后告诉他们司机带我去91街和第一大街交叉口的举重健身房,我在大街上锻炼了两个小时。

“The ritual is not the stretching and weight training I put my body through each morning at the gym; the ritual is the cab. The moment I tell the driver where to go I have completed the ritual.

“我的习惯不是每天早上在健身房做伸展运动和举重训练，而是坐出租车。在我告诉司机去哪里的那一刻，我已经完成了仪式。

“It’s a simple act, but doing it the same way each morning habitualizes it—makes it repeatable, easy to do. It reduces the chance that I would skip it or do it differently. It is one more item in my arsenal of routines, and one less thing to think about.”

“这是一个简单的行为，但是每天早上都用同样的方式使它习惯化ーー使它可以重复，易于操作。它减少了我跳过它或以不同的方式做它的机会。这是我日常生活中的又一件事，也是我需要思考的又一件事。”

Hailing a cab each morning may be a tiny action, but it is a splendid example of the 3rd Law of Behavior Change.

每天早上叫一辆出租车也许只是一个小小的举动，但却是第三行为变化法则的绝佳范例。

Researchers estimate that 40 to 50 percent of our actions on any given day are done out of habit. This is already a substantial percentage, but the true influence of your habits is even greater than these numbers suggest. Habits are automatic choices that influence the

研究人员估计，我们每天40%到50%的行动都是出于习惯。这已经是一个相当大的百分比，但是你的习惯的真正影响比这些数字表明的更大。习惯是一种自动的选择，它会影响你的生活

conscious decisions that follow. Yes, a habit can be completed in just a few seconds, but it can also shape the actions that you take for minutes or hours afterward.

接下来的有意识的决定。是的，一个习惯可以在几秒钟内完成，但是它也可以影响你几分钟或几小时之后的行动。

Habits are like the entrance ramp to a highway. They lead you down a path and, before you know it, you’re speeding toward the next behavior. It seems to be easier to continue what you are already doing than to start doing something different. You sit through a bad movie for two hours. You keep snacking even when you’re already full. You check your phone for “just a second” and soon you have spent twenty minutes staring at the screen. In this way, the habits you follow without thinking often determine the choices you make when you are thinking.

习惯就像高速公路的入口斜坡。它们引导你走上一条道路，在你意识到之前，你正在加速下一个行为。看起来继续你已经在做的事情比开始做一些不同的事情更容易。你坐着看了两个小时的烂电影。即使你已经吃饱了，你还是继续吃零食。你检查你的手机“只有一秒钟”，很快你就花了分钟盯着屏幕。通过这种方式，你不加思考地遵循的习惯往往决定了你在思考时所做的选择。

Each evening, there is a tiny moment—usually around 5:15 p.m.— that shapes the rest of my night. My wife walks in the door from work and either we change into our workout clothes and head to the gym or we crash onto the couch, order Indian food, and watch The Office.* Similar to Twyla Tharp hailing the cab, the ritual is changing into my workout clothes. If I change clothes, I know the workout will happen. Everything that follows—driving to the gym, deciding which exercises to do, stepping under the bar—is easy once I’ve taken the first step.

每天晚上，都有那么一个小小的时刻——通常是下午5点15分左右——决定着我今晚剩下的时间。我妻子下班后走进家门，我们要么换上运动服去健身房，要么就窝在沙发上，点印度菜，看《办公室》。就像特怀拉·萨普招呼出租车一样，这种仪式也变成了我的运动服。如果我换了衣服，我知道锻炼会发生。接下来的一切——开车去健身房，决定做哪些运动，跨过栏杆——只要我迈出了第一步，就很容易了。

Every day, there are a handful of moments that deliver an outsized impact. I refer to these little choices as decisive moments. The moment you decide between ordering takeout or cooking dinner. The moment you choose between driving your car or riding your bike. The moment you decide between starting your homework or grabbing the video game controller. These choices are a fork in the road.

每一天，都有一些时刻能够产生巨大的影响。我把这些小小的选择称为决定性的时刻。在你决定是叫外卖还是做晚饭的那一刻。当你在开车和骑自行车之间做出选择的那一刻。当你决定是开始做作业还是抓住游戏控制器时。这些选择是道路上的一个岔路口。

DECISIVE MOMENTS

决定性的时刻

FIGURE 14: The difference between a good day and a bad day is often a few productive and healthy choices made at decisive moments. Each one is like a fork in the road, and these choices stack up throughout the day and can ultimately lead to very different outcomes.

图14:好的一天和糟糕的一天之间的区别通常是在决定性的时刻做出一些富有成效和健康的选择。每一个都像是一个岔路口，这些选择在一天中累积起来，最终会导致非常不同的结果。

Decisive moments set the options available to your future self. For instance, walking into a restaurant is a decisive moment because it determines what you’ll be eating for lunch. Technically, you are in control of what you order, but in a larger sense, you can only order an item if it is on the menu. If you walk into a steakhouse, you can get a sirloin or a rib eye, but not sushi. Your options are constrained by what’s available. They are shaped by the first choice.

决定性的时刻为你未来的自我设置了可用的选择。例如，走进一家餐馆是一个决定性的时刻，因为它决定了你午餐吃什么。从技术上来说，你可以控制你点的东西，但是从更大的意义上来说，你只能点菜单上的东西。如果你走进一家牛排餐厅，你可以吃到牛腰肉或肋眼牛排，但不能吃寿司。你的选择受到现有条件的限制。它们是由第一选择决定的。

We are limited by where our habits lead us. This is why mastering the decisive moments throughout your day is so important. Each day is made up of many moments, but it is really a few habitual choices that determine the path you take. These little choices stack up, each one setting the trajectory for how you spend the next chunk of time.

我们被我们的习惯所限制。这就是为什么掌握一天中的决定性时刻是如此重要。每一天都是由许多时刻组成的，但真正决定你选择的是一些习惯性的选择。这些小小的选择堆积在一起，每一个都为你如何度过下一段时间设定了轨迹。

Habits are the entry point, not the end point. They are the cab, not the gym.

习惯是切入点，而不是终点。他们是出租车，不是健身房。

THE TWO-MINUTE RULE

两分钟规则

Even when you know you should start small, it’s easy to start too big. When you dream about making a change, excitement inevitably takes over and you end up trying to do too much too soon. The most effective way I know to counteract this tendency is to use the Two-Minute Rule, which states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”

即使你知道自己应该从小事做起，也很容易从大事做起。当你梦想着做出改变时，兴奋不可避免地接管了一切，最终你试图做得太多太快。我所知道的最有效的抵消这种倾向的方法是使用“两分钟规则”，即“当你开始一个新习惯时，它应该用不到两分钟的时间来完成。”

You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version:

你会发现几乎所有的习惯都可以缩减为两分钟的版本:

“Read before bed each night” becomes “Read one page.”

“每晚睡前阅读”变成了“阅读一页”

“Do thirty minutes of yoga” becomes “Take out my yoga mat.”

“做三十分钟的瑜伽”变成了“拿出我的瑜伽垫”

“Study for class” becomes “Open my notes.”

“为了上课而学习”变成了“打开我的笔记”

“Fold the laundry” becomes “Fold one pair of socks.”

“叠衣服”变成了“叠一双袜子”

“Run three miles” becomes “Tie my running shoes.”

“Runthreemiles”变成了“Tiemyrunningshoes”

The idea is to make your habits as easy as possible to start. Anyone can meditate for one minute, read one page, or put one item of clothing away. And, as we have just discussed, this is a powerful strategy because once you’ve started doing the right thing, it is much easier to continue doing it. A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy. What you want is a “gateway habit” that naturally leads you down a more productive path.

这个想法是让你的习惯尽可能容易地开始。任何人都可以冥想一分钟，读一页，或者把一件衣服放在一边。而且，正如我们刚才所讨论的，这是一个强有力的策略，因为一旦你开始做正确的事情，继续做下去就会容易得多。一个新的习惯不应该感觉像是一个挑战。接下来的行动可能是具有挑战性的，但前两分钟应该很容易。你想要的是一个“入门习惯”，自然地引导你走上一条更有成效的道路。

You can usually figure out the gateway habits that will lead to your desired outcome by mapping out your goals on a scale from “very easy” to “very hard.” For instance, running a marathon is very hard. Running a 5K is hard. Walking ten thousand steps is moderately difficult. Walking ten minutes is easy. And putting on your running shoes is very easy. Your goal might be to run a marathon, but your gateway habit is to put on your running shoes. That’s how you follow the Two-Minute Rule.

你通常可以通过从“非常容易”到“非常困难”的范围内描绘出你的目标，从而找出导致你想要的结果的入门习惯例如，跑马拉松是非常困难的。跑5公里很难。走一万步是相当困难的。步行十分钟很容易。穿上你的跑鞋是非常容易的。你的目标可能是跑一场马拉松，但你的入门习惯是穿上你的跑鞋。这就是你如何遵守两分钟规则。

Very easy	Easy	Moderate	Hard	Very hard
Put on your running	Walk ten	Walk ten thousand	Run a 5K	Run a
shoes	minutes	steps	marathon
Write one sentence	Write one	Write one thousand	Write a five-thousand-	Write a
paragraph	words	word article	book
Open your notes	Study for ten	Study for three	Get straight A’s	Earn a PhD
minutes	hours

People often think it’s weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved. If you can’t learn the basic skill of showing up, then you have little hope of mastering the finer details. Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis. You have to standardize before you can optimize.

人们通常认为，对阅读一页纸、沉思一分钟或打一个销售电话大肆宣传是很奇怪的。但关键是不要只做一件事。关键是要掌握出现的习惯。事实是，一个习惯必须先形成，然后才能得到改善。如果你不能学会露面的基本技巧，那么你就没有希望掌握更精细的细节。与其试图从一开始就培养一个完美的习惯，不如在一个更加稳定的基础上做简单的事情。在进行优化之前，你必须标准化。

As you master the art of showing up, the first two minutes simply become a ritual at the beginning of a larger routine. This is not merely a hack to make habits easier but actually the ideal way to master a difficult skill. The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things. By doing the same warm-up before every workout, you make it easier to get into a state of peak performance. By following the same creative ritual, you make it easier to get into the hard work of creating. By developing a consistent power-down habit, you make it easier to get to bed at a reasonable time each night. You may not be able to automate the whole process, but you can make the first action mindless. Make it easy to start and the rest will follow.

当你掌握了表现的艺术，开始的两分钟就会成为一个更大的例行公事的开始。这不仅仅是一个简化习惯的方法，实际上也是掌握一项困难技能的理想方法。你越是把一个过程的开始仪式化，你就越有可能陷入做伟大事情所需要的深度集中的状态。通过在每次锻炼前做同样的热身运动，你会更容易进入最佳状态。通过遵循同样的创造仪式，你可以更容易地进入创造的艰苦工作。通过养成一个持续的节能习惯，你可以让你每晚在合理的时间上床睡觉变得更加容易。你可能不能自动化整个过程，但你可以使第一个行动盲目。让开始变得容易，剩下的事情就会接踵而至。

The Two-Minute Rule can seem like a trick to some people. You know that the real goal is to do more than just two minutes, so it may feel like you’re trying to fool yourself. Nobody is actually aspiring to read one page or do one push-up or open their notes. And if you know it’s a mental trick, why would you fall for it?

对某些人来说，“两分钟规则”似乎是个小把戏。你知道真正的目标是做超过两分钟的事情，所以你可能会觉得自己在试图欺骗自己。没有人真正渴望读一页或做一个俯卧撑或打开他们的笔记。如果你知道这是一个精神陷阱，为什么你会上当呢？

If the Two-Minute Rule feels forced, try this: do it for two minutes and then stop. Go for a run, but you must stop after two minutes. Start meditating, but you must stop after two minutes. Study Arabic, but you must stop after two minutes. It’s not a strategy for starting, it’s the whole thing. Your habit can only last one hundred and twenty seconds.

如果两分钟法则让你觉得很勉强，试试这个:坚持两分钟，然后停下来。去跑步，但是你必须在两分钟后停下来。开始冥想，但是你必须在两分钟后停止。学阿拉伯语，但是你两分钟后必须停止。这不是一个开始的策略，这是整个事情。你的习惯只能持续一百二十秒。

One of my readers used this strategy to lose over one hundred pounds. In the beginning, he went to the gym each day, but he told himself he wasn’t allowed to stay for more than five minutes. He would go to the gym, exercise for five minutes, and leave as soon as his time was up. After a few weeks, he looked around and thought, “Well, I’m always coming here anyway. I might as well start staying a little longer.” A few years later, the weight was gone.

我的一个读者用这个方法减掉了100多磅。刚开始的时候，他每天都去健身房，但是他告诉自己不能呆超过五分钟。他会去健身房锻炼五分钟，一到时间就离开。几个星期后，他环顾四周，心想:“好吧，反正我总是要来这里的。我还不如多待一会儿。”几年后，体重消失了。

Journaling provides another example. Nearly everyone can benefit from getting their thoughts out of their head and onto paper, but most people give up after a few days or avoid it entirely because journaling feels like a chore.* The secret is to always stay below the point where it feels like work. Greg McKeown, a leadership consultant from the United Kingdom, built a daily journaling habit by specifically writing less than he felt like. He always stopped journaling before it seemed like a hassle. Ernest Hemingway believed in similar advice for any kind of writing. “The best way is to always stop when you are going good,” he said.

日志提供了另一个例子。几乎每个人都可以从把他们的想法从头脑中转移到纸上而受益，但是大多数人在几天之后就放弃或者完全避免写日记，因为写日记感觉像是一件苦差事。秘诀就是永远保持在感觉像是工作的点以下。来自英国的领导顾问格雷格·麦基翁养成了每天写日志的习惯，他写的东西比自己喜欢的要少。他总是在日记看起来像是一件麻烦事之前停止写日记。对于任何形式的写作，欧内斯特·海明威都有类似的建议。他说:“最好的方法就是在你进展顺利的时候停下来。”。

Strategies like this work for another reason, too: they reinforce the identity you want to build. If you show up at the gym five days in a row —even if it’s just for two minutes—you are casting votes for your new identity. You’re not worried about getting in shape. You’re focused on becoming the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts. You’re taking the smallest action that confirms the type of person you want to be.

这样的策略之所以奏效还有另外一个原因:它们强化了你想要建立的身份。如果你连续五天出现在健身房，即使只有两分钟，你也是在为你的新身份投票。你并不担心身材的问题。你专注于成为那种不会错过锻炼的人。你正在采取最小的行动来确定你想成为什么样的人。

We rarely think about change this way because everyone is consumed by the end goal. But one push-up is better than not exercising. One minute of guitar practice is better than none at all. One minute of reading is better than never picking up a book. It’s better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.

我们很少用这种方式去思考改变，因为每个人都被最终目标所消耗。但是一个俯卧撑总比不锻炼好。一分钟的吉他练习总比一分钟都不练好。一分钟的阅读比从不拿起一本书要好。做的比你希望的少总比什么都不做好。

At some point, once you’ve established the habit and you’re showing up each day, you can combine the Two-Minute Rule with a technique we call habit shaping to scale your habit back up toward your ultimate goal. Start by mastering the first two minutes of the smallest version of the behavior. Then, advance to an intermediate step and repeat the process—focusing on just the first two minutes and mastering that stage before moving on to the next level. Eventually, you’ll end up with the habit you had originally hoped to build while still keeping your focus where it should be: on the first two minutes of the behavior.

在某个时候，一旦你养成了这个习惯，并且你每天都会出现，你就可以把两分钟法则和一种我们称之为习惯形成的技巧结合起来，让你的习惯朝着你的最终目标回归。从掌握最小行为的前两分钟开始。然后，进入一个中间步骤，重复这个过程ー专注于最初的两分钟，在进入下一个阶段之前掌握这个阶段。最终，你会得到你最初希望建立的习惯，同时仍然保持你的注意力在它应该在的地方:在前两分钟的行为。

EXAMPLES OF HABIT SHAPING

养成习惯的例子

Becoming an Early Riser

成为一个早起者

Phase 1: Be home by 10 p.m. every night.

第一阶段:每天晚上10点前回家。

Phase 2: Have all devices (TV, phone, etc.) turned off by 10 p.m. every night.

第二阶段:每晚10点前关闭所有设备(电视、电话等)。

Phase 3: Be in bed by 10 p.m. every night (reading a book, talking with your partner).

第三阶段:每天晚上10点上床睡觉(读一本书，和你的伴侣聊天)。

Phase 4: Lights off by 10 p.m. every night.

第四阶段:每晚10点熄灯。

Phase 5: Wake up at 6 a.m. every day.

第五阶段:每天早上6点起床。

Becoming Vegan

成为纯素主义者

Phase 1: Start eating vegetables at each meal.

第一阶段:每餐开始吃蔬菜。

Phase 2: Stop eating animals with four legs (cow, pig, lamb, etc.).

第二阶段:停止食用四条腿的动物(牛、猪、羊等)。

Phase 3: Stop eating animals with two legs (chicken, turkey, etc.).

第三阶段:停止食用两条腿的动物(鸡肉、火鸡等)。

Phase 4: Stop eating animals with no legs (fish, clams, scallops, etc.).

第四阶段:停止食用没有腿的动物(鱼，蛤蜊，扇贝等)。

Phase 5: Stop eating all animal products (eggs, milk, cheese).

第五阶段:停止食用所有动物产品(鸡蛋、牛奶、奶酪)。

Starting to Exercise

开始锻炼

Phase 1: Change into workout clothes.

第一阶段:换上运动服。

Phase 2: Step out the door (try taking a walk).

第二阶段:走出家门(试着散散步)。

Phase 3: Drive to the gym, exercise for five minutes, and leave.

第三阶段:开车去健身房，锻炼五分钟，然后离开。

Phase 4: Exercise for fifteen minutes at least once per week.

第四阶段:每周至少运动一次，每次十五分钟。

Phase 5: Exercise three times per week.

第五阶段:每周锻炼三次。

Nearly any larger life goal can be transformed into a two-minute behavior. I want to live a healthy and long life > I need to stay in shape I need to exercise > I need to change into my workout clothes. I want to have a happy marriage > I need to be a good partner > I should do something each day to make my partner’s life easier > I should meal plan for next week.

几乎任何更大的人生目标都可以转化为两分钟的行为。我想过健康长寿的生活，我需要保持身材,我需要锻炼，我需要换上运动服。我想拥有一个幸福的婚姻我需要成为一个好的伴侣我应该每天做一些事情来使我的伴侣的生活更加轻松我应该为下周做饭计划。

Whenever you are struggling to stick with a habit, you can employ the Two-Minute Rule. It’s a simple way to make your habits easy.

无论何时你在努力坚持一个习惯，你都可以运用两分钟法则。这是一个简单的方法让你的习惯变得简单。

Chapter Summary

Habits can be completed in a few seconds but continue to impact your behavior for minutes or hours afterward.

习惯可以在几秒钟内完成，但在几分钟或几小时之后继续影响你的行为。

Many habits occur at decisive moments—choices that are like a fork in the road—and either send you in the direction of a productive day or an unproductive one.

许多习惯发生在决定性的时刻----选择就像是路上的一个岔路口----要么把你送到一个决定性的时刻生产性的一天还是非生产性的一天。

The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.”

两分钟法则指出，“当你开始一个新的习惯，它应该花不到两分钟去做。”

The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things.

你越是把一个过程的开始仪式化，你就越有可能陷入做伟大事情所需要的深度集中的状态。

Standardize before you optimize. You can’t improve a habit that doesn’t exist.

在优化之前先标准化。你不能改变一个不存在的习惯。