25-minute brainstorming session with a fan or air conditioner and a timer, when you want something simple

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.