Friday, March 8, 2013

Study Skills - Eliminate Distractions Using The Two Minute Rule

By Lachlan Haynes


For those who are engaged in studying, the value of using your study time shrewdly by being super-organized and super-productive is an absolute must.

So how many techniques do you use that assist you in being more productive and less distracted? Lots? Some? None? What if I told you that there was an easy way to help you become far less distracted and far more productive? Would that make a difference to you and your studies?

The good news is that even though the technique I am about to share with you will have a major impact on how productive you are it is still very easy to use and very easy to understand. Now how often can you say that?

A productivity guru named David Allen developed what is now known as the "Two Minute Rule". The two minute rule is exactly as it sounds and it works in the following way.

Whenever something interrupts what you are doing or threatens to steal away your precious study time (like a friend calling you on the phone or someone sending you a Facebook message) you just ask yourself: "Can this be handled in two minutes or less?"

If you believe you can handle the interruption within two minutes then you address it straight away. You do whatever you need to do to resolve the disruption. Then once you have resolved you go back to what you were doing (studying hopefully!) On the other hand, if you don't think it can be handled within two minutes then simply put it on your to-do list and note to address it later.

That's the long and the short of the two minute rule. Pretty easy really! No complications and no confusion.

Now, this may seem like a very simple solution but don't dismiss the power of using this technique. Often the times when we are trying to get things done can also be the times when we are exposed to many distractions and disruptions. When those distractions (think friends, siblings, after school activities, parents) take us away from our primary focus (like getting a draft of an essay done for example) for longer than a few minutes we can totally lose sight of what we were doing and as a result become far less productive because we constantly have to keep re-focusing.

A great benefit of the two minute rule is that you are quickly and effectively taking care of any distractions as they occur, and you are also creating a new rule that you can live your life by - "If I can't resolve it in two minutes or less I'm not addressing it until the important stuff is done!" By doing this, you have created a brilliant new habit.

A secondary benefit of the two minute rule is that you have organized and prioritized a to-do list. Instead of just addressing every distraction as it arises, you ignore those distractions that are going to take longer than two minutes - but because you have them written down as something to complete later you have instantly become more organized.

Simple? Yes. Productivity increases? Yes. You become more organized? Yes. It's win-win-win! By addressing distractions as they arise and controlling how you spend your time you will achieve much more in much less time. Try it for a week and see what happens. Good luck!




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