“It’s only 2 minutes.”

“I’ll just be a couple of minutes.”

“Be with you in 2 minutes.”

How often have you have said that this last week? A few times, I’ll bet, especially when you want to do something important, but also want to emphasise that it will take just a moment to do. 2 minutes is short hand for ‘no time at all’. It’s nothing. A smidge. A flash. A jiffy.

Take it from me that you can do a lot in the twinkling of an eye.

2 minutes is nothing and yet it can be something, if you spend your 2 minutes wisely. For example, if you tidy your kitchen for 2 minutes you’ll be surprised how much you can get done, even if the kitchen is a tip. It’s the same with my beach cleaning campaign, the #2minutebeachclean. It’s often quite shocking how much you can pick up in 2 minutes. But, in the face of a filthy beach you have to start somewhere, and that first 2 minutes does make a difference, because it’s the start you have made that counts.

You can make any 2 minutes matter

My first ever #2minutebeachclean in November 2013 appeared to make no difference at all to my beach, but after a few days of going back and doing it each time I walked the dog, I noticed the strandline began to look cleaner, even though I felt like I had done no more than a smidgen.

That’s when I realised that you can make any 2 minutes matter. Since that first #2minutebeachclean there have been over 55,000 images posted to Instagram that have used my hashtag. That’s more than 10 weeks of solid beach cleaning time. And all of it done in 2 minute chunks by people changing their habits in a small, but very effective way.

Chose compostables over plastic

Could you do it too? Next time you have a decision to make, think of the 2 minutes it’ll take for you to make that decision really positive. Taking a keep cup, buying from the local shop, choosing compostables over plastic. It all counts. And it all adds up.

Go for it. It’s only 2 minutes.

Author Martin Dorey – the founder of the global #2minutebeachclean movement, writer and beach lover.