Are you the type of person that tends to procrastinate? If so, here’s a simple trick that I learned that can really help. It will completely eliminate procrastinating so you can get more things done and have less stress in your life.

It’s called the five-minute test. And believe it or not, it only takes five minutes to complete the test. But before I tell you how to do it, let me give you some background knowledge on your brain.

You see, the way your brain works is like this. Imagine you just ran out of gas and you have to push your car to the gas station. Now I don’t know if you have ever had to push a car, but I sure have and let’s just say it isn’t fun. Anyways…

When you push your car, it’s really hard at first to get it going. It takes all of your strength just to get it to move one inch! But once you get it to move a little, it’s very easy to get it going after that. Provided that you don’t stop! If you stop, you have to start all over again with the same excruciating effort.

This is very similar to how your brain works. If you need to do something that you know is going to be very hard on your brain, it’s hard to get started. The wheels just don’t want to move. But once you get started and get in the flow of things, it’s a piece of cake. Once that juices get flowing, you can work on whatever you need to do for an hour or two at a time.

Now that you have some background knowledge on how your brain works, I present to you…

The Five Minute Test

It’s very simple actually. It works like this. The next time you have to do something that you don’t want to, here is what I suggest…

Tell yourself, “I am going to work on this for five minutes. If after five minutes I still don’t want to do it, then I will quit and do something else.”

Sounds kind of stupid doesn’t it. You might be thinking to yourself, “I’m just going to quit after five minutes, so what makes the difference?”

But that’s the beauty of the five minute test…

…it actually works!

Most of the time, you won’t quit after the first five minutes. Since your brain works like pushing a car, the first few minutes of working on something is the hardest part. After you get started, your brain has no trouble working more since you gave it a little push to get it going. Once you get over the biggest hurdle (getting started), the rest of the job gets much easier.

The five minute test can be used on almost anything that you don’t feel like doing. Whether it be paperwork, homework, yard work. It all works with the five minute test!

A Variation To The Five Minute Test

There’s more to the five minute test then you might think. You can also use the five minute test on something that you have already been working on.

Let’s say you’ve worked really hard on a project for the last hour and are thinking about quitting, even though you know you shouldn’t. Simply say to yourself, “I know I can’t stand doing this project anymore, so I will work on it for five more minutes. If I still don’t want to do it then, I will quit and get back to it later.”

From my experience, here is usually what happens. You say that you will work on it for five more minutes, but the next time you look at the clock, 15-20 minutes have passed and you are still focused and willing to work on it a little longer.

Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes you say you will work for five more minutes and you find yourself counting down the milliseconds until that five minutes is up. And that is perfectly OK. At least you gave it a shot to keep working.

Every now and then we need a break. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But more times then not, you find yourself working longer and harder then you ever would have expected.

Five More Minutes About The Five Minute Test

I know I’m getting into great detail about something so simple, but this test can really work wonders for you if you give it a shot. So let’s continue…

Sometimes you need to use the five minute test two or three times during a project that you really need to get done. When you get to that stage, start thinking about how much better things are going to be once you get this project done. Think about how much relief you will have knowing that the task is completely finished.

When it comes to the business world, this is what it is all about. Can you finish projects and tasks faster and more efficiently then the person next to you. If you can, it’s going to be you that gets promoted and it’s going to be you that is making the big bucks.

The five minute test, although very simple and may seem silly, actually works if you just give it a chance. Like anything, the more you use it, the better you get at it. When you push your brain just a tiny bit further then whatever it’s used to, it makes it that much easier for it to work harder the next time.

Imagine you are trying to run a marathon (26.2 miles). If you started right now, you might only be able to run a half of a mile before you had a heart attack. Which is perfectly fine. Some people wouldn’t have been able to go that far! The next time you decide to run, you simply have to push yourself to go a little farther than you did before. Maybe this time you pushed yourself to go .6 miles. You keep pushing yourself and you keep pushing yourself until amazingly one day you can go 26.2 miles.

You could do it. You could run a marathon if you made a daily commitment and pushed yourself to go a little further than what you did the day before.

This is what I am telling you to do with the five minute test. Push your brain to work a little harder every day. Maybe it can only go a few more seconds. If that’s a few more seconds then you could go the day before, then you are headed on the right track.

Push your body and your mind every day. If you don’t feel like doing something that needs to get done, give it the five minute test to get your brain juices flowing. And if you want to quit a little sooner then you need to, do another five minute test and see if you can’t re-energize yourself to keep working on it.

The five minute test will help build your mental toughness. Which will help you reach goals that you never possibly imagined you could do.

Before you know it, you will be running marathons and getting projects done weeks ahead of schedule. All because you decide to try working for five more minutes.

End Note: Procrastination is something that requires constant attention. Be sure to read Gleb Rey's 3 Rules To Help You Fight Procrastination for more great ideas!

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