Can 2-4 Minutes Change Your Life?

"To be a writer, you must write. Write when you feel like it and write when you don't."

“Can 2-4 minutes a day change your life?”

Dramatic click bait-y questions of this nature nearly cause my eyes to hit the back of my head. How gullible do you believe me to be, Miss Random Internet Expert Of Habit?

However. 

The answer to the question above, cringey and cliched though it sounds, has proven to be both fascinating and aspirational. (Crow pie is in the oven, thanks for asking. I may also be discovering cynicism isn’t a badge of honor.)

Earlier this year (somewhere around the 59th of January) I stumbled upon Write 2-4 In ‘24, a creative challenge hosted by Gretchin Rubin. The concept paired neatly with my New Year's intention of learning to establish a writing practice, and I cautiously decided to try it on for size.

Rubin’s proposal intrigued me—can any of us honestly lay claim to not wasting 2-4 minutes a day?  Good grief, I’ve easily squandered that amount this morning, indulging in the quasi-toxic Mennonite habit of stalking WhatsApp statuses. But I digress. 

The premise of the challenge is a simple one: commit to writing at least 2-4 minutes every day in 2024. That’s it. Boom. You’re done. 

This can look like scribbling a journal entry, scrawling random observations about the space surrounding you, (excellent exercise, anytime) or scratching down inspirations from your morning quiet time. There’s no real rules beyond dedicating at least 2 minutes per day solely to the task of writing. With stakes this low, you can hardly call it a gamble. 

It is common to struggle with the belief that consistency is worthwhile when change is not immediate. Twenty-first century culture bombards our waking moments with near endless options to achieve instant gratification—and daily diligence can seem like a bore times infinity. Habit formation is interesting in theory, (who doesn’t love James Clear) not terribly exciting in real life.  

But here’s the thing. It actually works. As opposed to the latest greatest productivity course. Whose primary concern lies in selling you something—often with less than life-changing results.  

Which brings me to another attractive feature of this active-versus-passive habit: when faced with merely 2-4 minutes of writing, minimal effort is required to talk myself into just doing the thing. Then doing it again in 24 hours. (reminds me of this!) Instead of craving quick bursts of motivation, I’m learning to love what lasts. 

Of course there are instances aplenty when the timer dings and I’m relieved to be done wrangling prepositions for the day. (I’m assuming most writers relate) My real point is this: even on days when my pencil is scratchy and every word sounds stilted—I’ve yet to regret 4 minutes of decent effort. Practice makes better, of this I’m convinced.

Hitch daily to the word practice? Nothing but opportunity for growth.

With each spin of the globe, I repeat the unglamorous motions. Tap notes into Docs, form phrases with pencil. In so doing, I experience the writing process more organically than 2023 me could have ever imagined.

This is not to say my sentences flow without effort. I'm a brand new baby in this writerly realm, that much is for certain. But I’m absolutely floored how the circadian rhythm of weaving words into worlds is affecting the very fabric of my brain—while simultaneously serving up a cautionary tale to any idea that claims tiny habits = small significance.

Put a less scholarly way:

How do you eat an elephant?

One forkful at a time.

How do you learn to write?

Two to four minutes a day.

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My current goal is to maintain this habit for the remainder of the year. Perhaps by then I’ll have more thoughts and greater insight. No doubt writers who've been at it for decades would find my little practice laughable. 

For those of you who do entertain the notion of “someday” learning to write, or possibly those beginning again after an intense season of life, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Does 2-4 minutes a day sound doable?

Demanding?

Depressing?

Utterly pointless?

Do tell me in the comments. It’s a conversation I would relish.