25-minute focus block for data work — birds at dawn, if you are doing this in the middle of the day

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.

2 While the timer runs

• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

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