The “2×2” Routine Completely Transformed My Mornings for Good

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Anyone who knows me knows that when I wake up, I need at least a good hour to adjust mentally. Even if I’m shuffling around the house, picking up this or tidying away that, I’m not ready for a conversation or much beyond drinking a warm cup of cocoa.

It’s part of why I love morning routines. I adore waking up while also waking up my house — doing simple little things like opening my windows and making the bed. However, as life has gotten more busy I’ve found myself with a pile of household chores left to do at the end of the day. Admittedly these don’t always end up getting done, which can leave me feeling guilty and behind.

To help strike a better balance I was inspired to try out the two-task morning routine of Apartment Therapy contributor Natalia Vela. I created a morning routine that consisted of a two-task long to-do list and tried it out for about a week. Here’s how it went.

According to Vela, the “2×2” morning routine basically means that you get two tasks done each morning and make sure they don’t take longer than two hours. (Thankfully, my morning chores only took about half that time!) I decided that the best way to choose my morning tasks was to think about what chores typically pile up for me. Then, in theory, if I tackled them in the morning they wouldn’t have the chance to get to the point of being so unapproachable.

The main culprit for me is doing the dishes, so I put this down as a non-negotiable morning task to do every day. Then for each of the other days, I jotted down a different chore I wanted to tackle: vacuum, take out the trash, change my bedding, clean the bathroom, do a load of laundry, scrub the kitchen hob, and generally clean the kitchen space.

My goal was to always keep on top of my dishes, so I did that every morning and then I’d choose a chore from my list above to round out my two tasks.

My morning routine sounded great on paper, but I quickly realized it would only be achievable if I got up a bit earlier. I work from home and try to get in as much rest as possible before delving into the workday, which is why I usually spend my evenings catching up on chores.

At first I doubted what I was doing. I didn’t want to get up earlier and do chores before an eight-hour remote shift. But I actually found the process rather meditative to do while still waking up. I’d tackle my dishes and whichever other chore I added to my list that day.

I moved my bedtime up 30 minutes to an hour earlier on the nights I had work the next day, and I love how it made me feel a sense of accomplishment before I had officially begun my work day. None of the tasks took me as long as anticipated — the chores never took longer than 45 minutes. In theory, the more I keep up with my morning routine tasks the less time they’ll take, as I won’t be dealing with dishes from an entire week or other kinds of piled-up messes.

I also loved how after logging off from work I didn’t have to drag myself up to complete chores. I could look forward to an evening knowing I had already done those things earlier in the day.

Overall I found this routine to be incredibly effective, although it might not work for everyone. If you’re someone who needs as much sleep as they can get in the morning and would really struggle to adjust otherwise, incorporating a two-task evening routine may be more effective for your needs.

I definitely found that writing my tasks down helped both as a reminder of what needed doing each day, as well as for the reward of ticking the tasks off. I didn’t expect to feel so happy with the process in the end. I feared doing chores would tire me out before work, but sticking to just two was more than manageable. I’m looking forward to continuing the habit and enjoying that bit of extra time in the morning to take care of my space.