25-minute focus block for problem solving — brown noise, if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.

3 When it ends

• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

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.