25-minute focus block for coding — brown noise, after eating too much

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.