Focus session · decluttering · 25 min

25-minute decluttering session with birds at dawn and a timer, after eating too much

Sit down, press start, and move things out for 25 minutes. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.

25:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Drop your attention from your head into your chest for a second. Do this sitting up, not lying down, if you have just eaten. Straight through, at a normal pace.

1 Before you start

  • Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
  • Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
  • Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
  • Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
  • Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

  • If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
  • It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
  • When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
  • Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.

3 When it ends

  • Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
  • Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
  • Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.

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