25-minute focus session for drawing with a library, when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• 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.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.