What I’m reading…The 5 Second Rule, by Mel Robbins - Jeff Jinks Law (2024)

FAQs

What is Mel's 5 Second Rule? ›

No matter what you want to improve upon, anxiety, health, work, your marriage or relationship, or financial stress, the 5 Second Rule will turn things around in, yes, 5 Seconds. Whenever you face hesitation, fear, stress or procrastination to do anything, just count down 5 -4 -3 -2 -1 and then MOVE.

The 5 Second Rule The moment you have an instinct to act on a goal you must 5-4-3-2-1 and physically move or your brain will stop you. There's one thing that is guaranteed to increase your feelings of control over your life: a bias toward action.

Implementing the 5 Second Rule in Everyday Life

Mel Robbins' TED Talk introduced a simple yet powerful tool: the 5 Second Rule. It's about taking action within five seconds of feeling an impulse, before your brain kills it with overthinking.

“The 5 Second Rule is simple. If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within five seconds or your brain will kill it. The moment you feel an instinct or a desire to act on a goal or a commitment, use the Rule.”

So food left there for 5 seconds or less will probably collect fewer bacteria than food sitting there for a longer time. But fast may not be fast enough. Bacteria can attach to your food as soon as it hits the floor. That means food left on the floor for an instant can get contaminated if conditions are right.

The rule is straightforward: when you have an idea or an impulse to take action, count down from five to one and then physically move to act on it. This simple technique disrupts hesitation and activates the prefrontal cortex, pushing you to take action before self-doubt and procrastination can set in.

5 Second Rule is a countdown to taking action. Before the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown completes we must take action (any action). Example: When the alarm sounds at 6 am, move in the next 5 seconds.

When I first heard of the Five-Second Rule, I noticed that the more time I give myself before getting to a task, the more likely I am to think about it getting hard and boring. The result? I'm less likely to start it. The Five-Second Rule stops you from overthinking.

The 5 Second Rule is a metacognitive “starting ritual” that will be the push you need in the moments when you don't feel like it but know you should do it. The rule is simple: If you have an impulse to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill the idea. 5-4-3-2-1.

This suggests that even the briefest of pauses—a mere five seconds—can give couples enough time to cool down, think more clearly and prevent arguments from escalating further.

What is the 5 Second Rule approach? ›

At its core, the five-second rule is a concept aimed at reducing hesitation and indecision. It encourages individuals to take action within five seconds of having an instinct to act on a goal or task.

The 5 Second Rule is a self-management technique. It advocates that people should start completing a possibly unpleasant task within 5 seconds, otherwise they may try to postpone the completion of the task. The technique thus tries to strengthen an impulse to move from thinking to action before objections prevent this.

What is the 5 Second Rule to combat procrastination? The rule is simple: when you're about to do a task (or feel yourself pushing back against something unpleasant that needs to be done) start counting down from five. when you reach one, spring into action and get to work.

#1 Hack you brain: The 5-second rule

According to Robbins, when you do not feel like getting up in the morning and throwing yourself into the new day, you only have to count from 5 to 1 and just force yourself to do it.

The 5 Second Rule is a self-management technique. It advocates that people should start completing a possibly unpleasant task within 5 seconds, otherwise they may try to postpone the completion of the task. The technique thus tries to strengthen an impulse to move from thinking to action before objections prevent this.

The 5 Second Rule is a metacognitive “starting ritual” that will be the push you need in the moments when you don't feel like it but know you should do it. The rule is simple: If you have an impulse to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill the idea.

Mel's rule of 8 is to help. Like with any rule, judgment is still important. Total number of cards in our 2 longest suits minus the total number of losers in your hand is 2 or greater = bid. Need at least 8 points in the 2 suits.