25-minute focus block for thesis writing — forest at dusk, when you are somewhere unfamiliar

1 Before you start

• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.

4What to put on

forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.