New Years is right around the corner and we know you’re already thinking about your 2020 goals and all that you’d like to accomplish in the coming year.

So here’s one our favorite tips for creating a lasting habit in your life.

It’s called the 2 minute rule.

Oftentimes we start much too large when it comes to creating a healthy habit. We have to run a mile as fast as possible, or deadlift 400 pounds, or get our first ring muscle up. But those goals won’t help us actually get there, so instead break it down into something much smaller to create a habit and stepping stone to get there.

When starting any habit, it should take 2 minutes or less to create the action or make the decision. That means running a mile can become daunting, and if you’re someone who struggles with “falling off the wagon,” this is why.

So let’s break it down:

Let’s say your goal is to do your first ring muscle up.
The habits you could put in place include keeping in mind the two minute rule is:
Doing as many strict pull ups as possible for 2 minutes.
Practice a few swings after every workout.
Do a max effort set of dips daily.
Practice 5 ring transitions after every workout.
Hang from the ring from as long as possible (up to 2 minutes).

These will all help you get where you’re going, and over time if you can and want to spend more than 2 minutes working on your goal - great! But when we spend 20 minutes working on something, it’s easy to not see the results, give up, and never get where we’re going.