We’re living in an age of shorter attention spans, fuller calendars and endless notifications competing for our focus. So perhaps it’s time our approach to self-improvement caught up.
Instead of waiting for the perfect hour to exercise, meditate or finally tackle that thing we’ve been putting off, what if we started with just two minutes? Here, Lizzie Williamson – the Australian personal trainer, author and creator of the global Two Minute Moves movement – explains how 120 seconds became the starting point for transforming her own life, and why she believes it could help us make positive change without adding another hour to an already packed day.
Is Our Attention Span Shrinking?
My transformation from anxious mum to the “Excuse Buster from Down Under” began in a doctor’s waiting room. This was 18 years ago and, after having my second child, my anxiety had spiralled and I was having dark, debilitating thoughts about ending my life.
Diagnosed with postnatal depression, it was my doctor’s advice that really stuck with me: “You know when you get on a plane, and they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others? That’s what you have to do.”
Great advice, in theory. But where could I even begin? I didn’t have any time. Couldn’t even go to the toilet by myself without my toddler following me in. Was sleep deprived. And I felt hopeless.
With my background as a dancer and personal trainer, I decided to begin with my body.
I had barely exercised since my daughters were born. Like many busy mums, the thought of going to the gym or fitting in an hour-long workout felt impossible. And I couldn’t shake the voice in my head saying, “You’re too unfit. You won’t keep up. And how could you even think of leaving your babies?”
Then something magical happened.
One morning, as I wiped down the kitchen counter after my daughter’s breakfast, the urge came over me to do some pliés from my ballet days – a movement where a dancer bends their knees and straightens them again.
My workout only lasted a couple of minutes before my toddler called out to me, but for the rest of the day, I felt calmer, more empowered and even a little bit proud of myself.
The next day, I did it again … and the next. “Just two minutes,” I’d tell myself. I never imagined that, nearly two decades later, that mantra would have become a global movement. As “just two minutes” started to transform my life, I started urging friends to try it too – and from there it grew.
Fast forward nearly two decades, and I’ve stood on stages across the globe championing people to adopt a “something is better than nothing” mindset. It also inspired my new book, Just Two Minutes: The excuse-busting method changing lives across the world.
It’s transformational; it’s research-backed; and it couldn’t be more timely.
The world we’re trying to improve ourselves in has changed dramatically – and so have our attention spans.
People now spend an average of just 47 seconds focused on a single screen before switching, compared with 2.5 minutes in 2004, according to research from the University of California.
We struggle to stick with an entire TikTok video before swiping. We read headlines and skip the article. Our phones buzz, our inboxes ping and there is always another notification demanding our attention.
Yet so much of the self-help industry still feels designed for a different attention economy. We’re told to carve out an hour for the gym, meditate for 30 minutes, complete a 30-day challenge or overhaul our entire morning routine. Then we wonder why we fail.
One of my favourite questions to ask people is, “What are you waiting for?” We all know what we should be doing to make ourselves feel happier, healthier, wealthier – so why aren’t we taking that first step?
The most common excuse I hear? Time. We think we don’t have enough time, or the time we do have is absorbed by everything vying for our attention. This is where the two-minute method really becomes powerful.
It’s unrealistic to expect self-help to remain untouched by the way our lives – and our attention – have changed. When it comes to making positive changes, we need steps that are as easy to digest as an Instagram caption – and as easy to action as pressing that little heart.
Next time you’re lying in bed, thinking about scrolling instead of putting on your gym gear, tell yourself: “Just two minutes.” You don’t need to do a complex workout; you just need to do two minutes of push-ups. You just need to begin.
When you’re feeling down, but a long conversation with a friend feels daunting, use that mantra again: “Just two minutes.” Without overthinking it, send a friend a two-minute voice note.
There are countless ways this works: two minutes of gratitude; two minutes of deep breathing; two minutes to send that email you’ve been putting off.
It works because you’re not waiting to feel motivated before taking action. You’re not pausing or overthinking – which just creates “waiting windows” when you’re more likely to reach for a sugary snack or go down an Insta rabbit hole rather than choosing a positive action step.
We don’t necessarily need more motivation, more willpower or more hours in the day. Sometimes, we just need to make the starting line so easy to reach that there’s no excuse not to cross it.
The best bit? You never have to graduate past two minutes. Your entire transformation – whether it’s health, happiness or a big career goal – can happen in two minutes of action at a time.
In a world competing for every second of our attention, two minutes is all we need to refocus on what’s truly best for us.
Just Two Minutes: The excuse-busting method changing lives across the world is available now. To find out more, visit: lizziewilliamson.com
