A cognitive behavioral therapy technique for overcoming procrastination by committing to work on a dreaded task for just five minutes. Most people find that after starting with this small commitment, momentum builds and they continue working well beyond the initial five minutes, making it easier to overcome the initial resistance to starting.
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Five-Minute Rule
The 5-Minute Rule is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) technique designed to help people overcome procrastination. Using this rule, you set a goal of doing whatever task you've been avoiding, but you only commit to doing it for a set amount of time: five minutes. This approach removes the overwhelming feeling of having to complete an entire task and makes starting much more manageable.
Commit to working on a task you've been avoiding for just five minutes. After five minutes:
Most people find that after five minutes of doing something, it's easy to continue until the task is done. The hardest part is usually setting the intention and starting—once you're engaged, momentum takes over.
Choose a task you've been procrastinating on—something you know you should do but have been avoiding.
Set a timer for exactly five minutes. This creates a concrete, bounded commitment.
Begin the task with the mindset that you only need to work for five minutes—no more.
When the timer goes off:
Even if you stop after five minutes, you've overcome inertia and made progress.
This technique is rooted in CBT principles of behavioral activation—taking action even when you don't feel motivated, which often shifts your emotional state.
Once we start a task, our brains experience tension until it's completed, making continuation more likely than stopping.
Starting requires the most mental energy (activation energy). Once in motion, continuing requires less energy (like physics).
Example 1: Exercise Avoidance
Example 2: Writing Project
Example 3: Household Chores
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