The Two-Minute Habit That Makes You 10% Better at Everything

Many people coast through life on auto-pilot for years or decades of their life. They’re not “checked out” exactly, but not nearly as engaged as they could be on a minute-by-minute level.

I’ve had a burning desire from a young age to not live like that, and for the most part I’ve kept that promise to myself. But over the past couple years I feel like I’m slipping a bit and have caught myself sailing along in neutral— simply accepting the default options that life hands me.

If you feel like I’m describing you, even in just a few areas of your life, then be encouraged, because the fix is pretty straight-forward: simply by adopting the habit of being intentional, you can make yourself instantly better at nearly everything you do.

How much better? Well that depends on how low far you’ve slipped. But I bet nearly everyone could be 10% better at everything they do.

The best, most universal way I know to get better across any number of dimensions of life is to approach them with intentionality. Anything done with deliberate and purposeful action is more likely to succeed.

But what exactly does it mean to be intentional and how can you get it if you don’t have it already?

To be intentional requires reflection, thoughtfulness, and conscious choice. This is opposed to our default mode, which is often impulsive and without much consideration beyond surface-level concerns.

For me, the fastest way to switch from my default mode to my intentional mode is by asking myself a series of simple but probing questions and attempting to give satisfactory answers. This obvious-sounding method is something few people do, but it only takes a couple minutes and it truly works.

The approach has its roots in the teaching method of the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. The Socratic method, as it’s become known, typically involves two or more people having a friendly, cooperative, but argumentative dialogue. One person gently but directly challenges the other with questions, with the mutual goal of deeper understanding and the pursuit of truth.

I’ve discovered that you don’t need two people at all. It’s possible to slow yourself down, challenge your own thinking, and get nearly the same benefits.

How to Apply the Socratic Method

There’s no secret recipe for asking good “Socratic” questions. The usual types of questions, especially those that start with “why,” “what,” and “how,” are a good place to start.

You can stack these questions, for example, by asking “why” multiple times to reveal the deeper reasons or assumptions behind your thoughts.

The Socratic method works similarly to talking through a problem or decision with a close friend. By articulating your thoughts out loud, you may see how thin or vain your motives are in a particular area or make a connection you would have otherwise missed.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, the Socratic method is even better when done with someone you know and trust. This is how it was originally devised. The best companions, the ones you already go to with your struggles, apply this method naturally. They aren’t trying to fix your problems for you but rather helping you to think more clearly and deeply about them.

No matter how you apply it, alone or with a friend, the Socratic method is a powerful tool for being more intentional about any area of life.

My Favorite “Socratic” Questions

Below are some examples of questions I use to push myself towards intentionality. If you’re like me, a good reminder to use these questions is when you find yourself wrestling with negative emotions like stress, boredom, or apathy. These questions can be a gentle way to bring your emotions back in alignment with your goals.

“What” questions:

• What am I trying to accomplish?
• What do I want to want?
• What do I actually want?
• What do I assume to be true?
• What am I waiting for?

“Why” questions:

• Why do you want what you want?
• Why do I feel the way I do?
• Why is this not working?
• Why do I think this will work?

“How” questions:

• How should my faith inform my perspective?
• How do I get started?
• How do I want this to look in the future?
• How can I enjoy this more?

3 Immediate Benefits of Asking Questions

The truth is that the Socratic Method is no magic elixir; it only works when you put in the effort and apply it diligently.

But honestly, I can’t imagine many scenarios in life where it won’t make things much better if you actually use it. This process of asking yourself (or a friend) a series of probing questions works because it encourages these three beneficial actions:

Slow yourself down in a busy, busy world. In this age of distraction and busyness, many of our decisions are made by emotional impulse. Either that, or we uncritically remain on the default paths of life. Anything that gets us to pause is, in my mind, a welcome balance.

Force your thoughts to go deeper than the surface. Whether it’s always been the case, or perhaps the constant stimulation of our screens has made it worse, deep thinking seems to be in short supply. When we do think, we rarely do so methodically; instead, we skip around from one fleeting thought to another. The Socratic method presses us to reflect on the important questions of life with deeper consideration.

Set a positive intention and mark a line in the sand. The Socratic method isn’t just a brainstorming tool; it asks questions and expects answers. These answers may be aspirational, but they help us imagine a better version of ourselves and what that could look like. Clearly knowing the good thing you want to do is an important step in that very direction.