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Table of Contents

1. Preface

2. Main Article

3. Readers’ Favorite

4. Stuff

Preface

Last week's newsletter sparked emotional responses from my readers, ranging from happiness and excitement to concerns about returning home.

While the emails I got were different, and I answered each one individually, there was one thing I found myself writing more often than not:

I choose not to worry about things that may, or may not happen.

If I’m concerned, it HAS TO BE about something that is actually happening. And then the negative emotions motivate me to solve the problem at hand.

Reality doesn’t come with emotions. Instead, emotions exist only in our minds. The fact that we’re angry or sad is not because this is the reality. It’s because we DECIDED to link reality with these emotions.

Don’t get me wrong. I allow myself to feel sad, angry, and frustrated. But I consciously avoid stress and worry. Nothing good ever comes out of these two.

And this brings us to today’s newsletter.

Time management as a tool to reduce stress.

Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to start doing checklists or change your daily routine.

And no. Time management is for more than just the busy. It’s also for the free spirits and my retired readers who enjoy their free calendars.

In fact, unoccupied periods often bring up more worry and stress.

Today, I'd like to share my 2-20-2-20 rule.

This rule has reduced my stress levels to almost zero.

"I've lived through some terrible things, some of which actually happened"
— Mark Twain

Number 79!

Let’s do this!

Main Article

The 2-20-2-20 rule.

Q: What does “2-20-2-20” mean?

A: It categorizes tasks into four time frames: 2 seconds, 20 seconds, 2 minutes, and 20 minutes.

Most of your tasks will fall into these categories, with the majority being 2-second, 20-second, and 2-minute. The 20-minute tasks are the minority.

Q: Why aren't tasks that take longer than 20 minutes included?

A: They are too large to be managed with this system. We'll address them in a separate newsletter.

You likely have a hundred 2-second tasks every day, several 20-second tasks, a handful of 2-minute tasks, and only a few 20-minute tasks daily.

Let’s tackle them one by one:

🔵 2-second Tasks

Many routine tasks can be completed in under 2 seconds.

Examples include marking a non-essential email as "read", replying to a text with a "👍", or returning an item to its drawer.

Despite the simplicity of these tasks, we often delay them.

Consider the email example: Once you've read the message, your focus has already shifted away from your original task. So, why delay marking it as "read" or responding with a "👍"?

👉 2-Second Rule: Complete all 2-second tasks immediately, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

🔵 20-second Tasks

Tasks in this category take slightly longer, often leading us to postpone them.

Examples of such tasks include changing a light bulb, adding an item to the grocery list, or replying to an email briefly.

Postponing these tasks can lead to forgetting them, resulting in increased clutter and reduced quality of life.

What distinguishes a 2-second task from a 20-second one, aside from the time required?

The longer tasks demand more effort to complete immediately. They require you to pause your current activity. Sometimes, spending 20 seconds on your phone in social situations may be considered rude.

So, in such cases, complete all 20-second tasks as soon as appropriate. Don't delay, not even for a minute!

I invest in tools and apps that help me accomplish these tasks quickly — more on that in the “Stuff” section.

👉20-second Rule: Immediately complete all tasks that take 20 seconds or less, unless it's socially inappropriate.

🔵 2-minute Tasks

These tasks require more focus or movement. Examples include writing an email or loading the washing machine.

If you have time to do them immediately, go ahead!

The challenge is that we often need more motivation to complete them immediately, or we don't want to interrupt what we're currently doing, even for just 2 minutes.

So the solution here is simple - Batch them!

Do them one after another or even simultaneously.

The key here is scheduling. Notice that I haven’t mentioned anything about calendars, reminders, or to-do lists so far.

Tasks that take 2 or 20 seconds shouldn't be scheduled; they should be done immediately. On the other hand, 2-minute tasks that can't be completed right away should be added to your schedule.

How?

This is crucial: Schedule these tasks AS SOON AS you know about them, and consider the best time slot for each task.

This could be on your commute to work, during your lunch break, while doing laundry, just before you leave work, or while waiting to pick up your child. You get the idea.

I plan these tasks for my commute to work, early in the morning. On the rare occasion I have spare time, I review my future tasks to see which ones can be completed in advance.

👉2-minute Rule: Schedule your 2-minute tasks for the perfect time, and batch them.

🔵 20-minute Tasks

Tasks like these are relatively uncommon. While some can be crucial, such as proofreading an abstract, others can be unimportant but mandatory, like completing an online tutorial.

The strategy is to schedule important tasks when your mind is alert, typically in the morning, and reserve less critical tasks for when you're winding down your day.

For those in leadership positions, the role of your secretary or assistant is to transform tasks that might take 20 minutes into 2-second and 20-second tasks.

👉20-minute Rule: Begin your day with the most crucial 20-minute task. End it with a less critical but mandatory 20-minute task.

Readers’ Favorite

How I Enjoy the Freedom of a Mobile Office.

Think of a mobile office as your genie in a bottle. Sit down, snap your fingers, and start working. ANYWHERE.

You can read about it here.

Stuff

These are the apps and gear I use to complete tasks in under 20 seconds or 2 seconds:

📱Applications - Dropbox, Notion, Readwise Reader.

💡Gear - MacBook M2 Pro, iPhone 12 mini.

Epilogue

If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to join Friday's Digest, visit: https://newsletter.shaysharon.com

That’s it for this issue.

Hope for better times.

Shay