25-minute focus session for admin and email

1 Before you start

• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• 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.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.

3 When it ends

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.