10-Minute Rule

To overcome procrastination, commit to a task for just 10 minutes.

Odds are, you've screwed yourself by hesitating at least once in your life. Failing to act quickly enough in key moments is often the difference between success and failure.

Nothing kills your Jiu-Jitsu like hesitation. On the mats, being late by even a fraction of a second can cost you the match. At a certain point, hesitation loses as many matches as bad technique.

I suspect that many people who think they “suck at Jiu-Jitsu” are just hesitating too much.

For many of us, Jiu-Jitsu was the first time we noticed our tendency to hesitate, and the consequences of making that mistake. It then leads us to wonder: How many of our failures in life were caused by hesitation, without us even realizing it?

Luckily, because hesitation is such a common problem, there are many known remedies. We'll run through some of them today.

The 10-minute rule

It goes by many names, but we have a common tactic for overcoming procrastination. I know it as “the 10-minute rule:”

To overcome procrastination, commit to a task for just 10 minutes.

This is not a new concept. It has many variants, such as “the 5-minute rule,” which is the same idea in all but the number. Grapplearts founder Stephan Kesting has a version he calls the “just the tip” method, and hopefully you'll forgive me if I don't explain the meaning behind that one!

Whatever you prefer to call it, the 10-minute rule rocks because it helps us overcome the biggest obstacle to getting anything done: the fear of getting started.

The first step on any new project is always the most difficult. The 10-minute rule makes that first step easier because it gives you an “out” if things go bad. Remember, you're only committing 10 minutes of your time. After that, you can quit anytime you want! A 10-minute commitment is so small that it's hard to object.

The magic is in what happens next. By getting started, you overcome inertia and gain momentum. After the first 10 minutes elapse, you'll probably have gotten into the groove and decide you want to keep going.

The 10-minute rule is a powerful mental shortcut for overcoming the fear of commitment. If the reason for your hesitation is the size of the project you're about to tackle, the 10-minute rule helps you understand that the job might not be as big as you feared.

Precommitments

The 10-minute rule pairs well with another tool for overcoming hesitation: precommitments.

A precommitment is an agreement you make in advance, to avoid spending time on decision-making later.

The most relatable example of precommitments is grocery shopping. Your diet isn't determined at home, it's determined at the grocery store. What you buy there is a precommitment to what you will eat later. This is why the easiest way to eat healthy is to never allow junk food into your home in the first place.

Precommitments are sometimes known as “Ulysses pacts” or “Ulysses contracts,” in reference to the Greek hero from The Odyssey who, in order to hear the Siren's song without becoming entranced, created a precommitment by ordering his crew to tie him to the ship's mast.

Precommitments reduce hesitation by cutting out the time required to make decisions. By deciding how you'll respond to an event in advance, you can act faster in the moment because you don't need to think about what to do.

Here's an example relevant to Jiu-Jitsu: Have you ever frozen while playing guard because you weren't sure what to do? This happened because you hadn't precommitted to a plan, so you had to stop and think mid-match. That's the worst time to do your thinking! Pick a technique you want to work on, and precommit right now that the next time you play guard, you will attempt that technique immediately.

Do this for a while and you'll get pretty good at that technique. And before long, you'll be able to do it without hesitating.

Between the 10-minute rule and precommitments, you're well equipped to combat hesitation in all forms. Now we need to ask: what is the thing you've been hesitating to do, and how can these tools help you get started right now?

On the podcast:

• Ep. 327: Perseverance, feat. Stephan Kesting

Further study:

• Ulysses Contracts