25-minute focus block for writing — distant traffic, when you are waiting for something

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.