25-minute coding session with rain on a window and a timer, when you are cold and want to be warm

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.

4What to put on

rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.