25-minute focus block for portfolio work — plain quiet, if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.