Focus session · design work · 25 min
25-minute focus session for design work with café murmur, on a low-energy afternoon
25 minutes on design work — rough versions first. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.
25:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands. Low-energy afternoons are what this was written for. We'll go through it in order, without much decoration.
1 Before you start
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
2 While the timer runs
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
3 When it ends
- 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.
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
4What to put on
café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.
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