Focus session · planning · 25 min
25-minute focus session for planning with a library, when you are not in the mood
25 minutes on planning — on paper, so you can see it. 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.
Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is. Not being in the mood is a normal starting point. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
- Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
- Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
2 While the timer runs
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
3 When it ends
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
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.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.