The 2-Minute Rule (GTD)

What is The 2-Minute Rule (GTD)?

David Allen's simple but powerful rule from Getting Things Done: if a task takes less than 2 minutes to complete, do it immediately instead of adding it to a list. The overhead of tracking, scheduling, and remembering a 2-minute task actually exceeds the time to just do it right now.

Is there evidence for it?

How do you do The 2-Minute Rule (GTD)?

1. 1.When processing your inbox (email, physical, or mental), apply the 2-minute test to every item
2. 2.If the next action takes less than 2 minutes — reply to that email, file that document, make that quick call — do it now
3. 3.If it takes more than 2 minutes, decide: delegate it, defer it to a specific date/time, or add it to the appropriate project list
4. 4.Use this as a gateway drug to the full GTD system — it's the easiest piece to implement immediately
5. 5.Be honest about what's actually 2 minutes — don't let 'just one more quick thing' spiral into an hour of reactive busywork

How long does it take?

Zero extra time — it eliminates overhead.

Is it hard to start?

easy.

> how Shift handles procrastination

This is one entry from the library Shift matches against. It is general information, not advice about you, and nothing on this page came from anyone's conversation.