25-minute focus session for design work with a fan or air conditioner, when you are short on time

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.

4What to put on

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.