6 minutes (ultra brief)

The 6-minute method:

This is the super-short version. I hope to elaborate more later but want to get this out before I forget (again). The 6 minute method is intended to overcome motivational inertia or delay/minimize acting on counterproductive desires.

To do what you don't want to do, tell yourself you only have to do the activity for 6 minutes. Don't set a timer. Hopefully by the time 6 minutes is over, you won't be watching the clock and will be involved in the activity. But if you do see the time is up, tell yourself you did it for 6 minutes, you can do it for another 6 minutes. Do that for as many sets of 6 minutes as you can. When you do finally stop, remember you succeeded because ANY set of 6 minutes is more than not doing it for any minutes at all.

To NOT do what you want to do, tell yourself to wait 6 minutes before doing it. Don't set a timer. Hopefully by the time 6 minutes is over, you will have found a better alternative to what you want. If you still really want it and still really shouldn't, tell yourself you waited 6 minutes, you can wait another 6 minutes. Do that for as many sets of 6 minutes as you can. In the meantime, try to set into place something that will distract you from your desire, replace it with something more suitable, or become self-limiting so that something external stops you from being able to go after the counterproductive urge. Frequently, cravings pass or the situation in which they are available end. Try to last. If you cave in, remind yourself that you held out for longer than you wanted to.

6 minutes...

fold laundry for only 6 minutes
wait for 6 minutes before getting that bowl of ice cream

PS - it's 6 minutes for a reason... 5 minutes is a short amount of time. it's manageable, palatable, doesn't sound like a life sentence or an eternity. But it's easy to clock-watch 5 minutes. It's easy to see it on the clock and it's even easy to estimate 5 minutes in your head because we do it so often. But 6 minutes is just enough longer than that to make it not intuitively guessed without being sufficiently longer to feel infinitely longer.