25-minute focus session for portfolio work with a fan or air conditioner, when you have more time than usual

1 Before you start

• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

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.