The 10-Minute Rule for People Who Hate Discipline

Author

Scott Lynch
November 24, 2025

Hey there,

Last Wednesday, right after a 35-minute lower-body workout that left my legs doing that tiny involuntary earthquake thing, I told myself I’d go for my usual post-lift run.

So I put on my socks, my running shoes, and then immediately sat down.

Thirty seconds later, I was horizontal on the floor, staring at the ceiling like I was waiting for a UFO to abduct me and solve all my problems.

The truth is, I don’t hate working out. I just hate starting working out.

Same with cleaning, writing, or anything that requires even one ounce of discipline.

If discipline were easy, we wouldn’t have to listen to 900 motivation hacks a week from people who look like they don’t even blink.

But what if you didn’t need motivation? What if you only needed 10 minutes?

For years, I believed discipline was about intensity.

Wake up at 4 a.m., cold plunge, meditate until you dissociate, journal until your wrist cramps.

You know, the whole rise and grind starter pack.

But discipline isn’t about forcing yourself to be a superhero.

It’s about overcoming the first 10 seconds of dread.

Psychologist Judson Brewer calls it ‘the habit loop of avoidance’.

Basically, your brain overestimates how hard something will be, so you avoid it, which reinforces the avoidance and makes the task even harder next time.

Last November and December, my discipline didn’t just slip.

It packed a bag, took the car keys, and left without even writing a note.

My alarm would go off at 5:30 a.m., and I would stare at the wall like a Roomba that glitched mid-clean.

I wasn’t depressed, I was overwhelmed.

My morning routine fell apart.

My workouts became optional suggestions.

Everything suddenly felt like emotional CrossFit.

It didn’t help that my morning routine looked like the preflight checklist of a commercial airline.

I wasn’t burned out, but I was lightly toasted.

Waking up itself felt impossible. I would hit snooze and feel the entire day slipping through my fingers.

It became a loop…

I was overwhelmed by the intensity of my workouts, the busy calendar waiting for me, and the pressure to start strong.

So I avoided all of it, which made me feel worse, which made the avoidance stronger.

By 8 a.m., I had usually accomplished more than most people did by lunch, and I was already exhausted.

I thought I was being disciplined, but I had made discipline so big and so intense that my body avoided it entirely.

When discipline becomes impossible to start, it becomes impossible to sustain.

Which brings us to the 10-minute rule…

Last December, I hit my limit.

One morning, after negotiating with myself like I was trying to get out of a Planet Fitness gym membership, I told myself:

“Just start for ten minutes. If I still hate it, I’ll stop.”

Ten minutes later, I didn’t stop.

Not because I’m a hero, but because the hardest part wasn’t the workout.

It was starting the workout.

The magic of the 10-minute rule is simple: Commit to any hard task for just 10 minutes.

If you want to quit afterward, you can.

It tricks your brain, removes pressure, and kills perfectionism.

And it leverages the ‘Zeigarnik Effect’: once we start something, we feel compelled to continue.

Psychologically, the 10-minute rule works because:

  1. It reduces activation energy.

  2. It bypasses the brain’s fear center.

  3. It builds identity through action.

  4. It creates dopamine through completion.

Discipline isn’t built in hours. It’s built in minutes.

Here is how I use the 10-minute rule in real life:

  1. The 10-Minute Workout
    Put on your shoes. Set a timer. Move for 10 minutes. Most of the time, I keep going because once the engine is warm, your brain says, “We’re already here.”

  2. The 10-Minute Clean
    Pick one area. Ten minutes, no pressure. It’s amazing how much you can get done when you are not trying to deep-clean your entire home.

  3. The 10-Minute Creative Session
    Write, sketch, plan, record. Creativity rewards momentum, not inspiration.

  4. The 10-Minute Admin Blitz
    Emails, bills, scheduling. Do it quickly without caring too much. Many tasks take less time than making coffee.

  5. The 10-Minute Reset
    Put your phone in another room. Sit. Breathe. Let your brain stop vibrating like my legs after that lower-body workout.

Before the 10-minute rule, I waited for motivation, which meant nothing happened.

After the 10-minute rule, I stopped trying to be disciplined.

I became someone who starts things. And once you start, discipline takes care of itself.

Most people try to change their entire life in one dramatic moment.

But real change happens in small, unglamorous, 10-minute increments.

You don’t need to grind harder.

You don’t need to become a machine.

You don’t need to wait for motivation to show up.

You just need to begin for 10 minutes.

Because discipline isn’t built by heroes.

It’s built by people who show up, even when it is small. Especially when it’s small.

Anyway, you have been reading this for almost 10 minutes.

If you want to quit now, go ahead, but something tells me you won’t.

And if you made it to the end, impressive discipline.

– Scott

P.S. Get more stuff from me (so my wife doesn’t make me go back to a “real” job):