I've found that a problem I've had is that a "2 minute task" is sometimes, for me, estimated to be a 20+ minute task.
When I actually got out a watch and timed it, I was like "oh shit, that was not even a fraction of my estimate".
So it's the estimation, not the actual task length/difficulty that is sometimes a problem for me.
Precisely. This is how “mount my monitor on the monitor arm I had lying around” became “ream an 8mm hole in my desk”, “find an 8mm drill bit”, “rig a screw driver to ream out the whole by hand”, “ask coworker for a sleeve to make a sleeve for the bolt so it stays still on my desk”, “ream out the brass shell casing he gave me”.
However, after spending 2 hours doing that, I went and did a bunch of stuff I’d been procrastinating doing that were high priority with seemingly way more energy and focus.
Depends. 2 minutes with a context switch is very expensive. If it is just putting that cup in the dishwasher then sure!
Its not 100% for sure but say 70% for me which is high enough.
Yes if I am working on a high importance, high bandwidth problem I will break it.
But of day-to-day with team a lot of things fall into this. I see other stick it in their To-dos or setup time in calendar where I just prefer to get it done.
Earlier in my career I went on all sorts of productivity boosting courses and read loads of books...in the end only one thing has stuck and that's the 2 minute rule from David Allen.
In short, if a tasks hits you and you can get it done in 2mins or less just do it there and then.
Explained in his voice here for those interested - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_-YOdwUDsg&t=37s