Focus session · problem solving · 25 min
25-minute focus session for problem solving with a stream, if you are tired of apps
25 minutes on problem solving — before looking anything up. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Feel your ribs move. That is all the machinery you need to pay attention to right now. No account, no streak, no notification asking how you feel. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
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 you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
3 When it ends
- Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
4What to put on
a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.
If this block does not fit, try A 50-minute block for applications and forms, with a fireplace, when you feel fine and want to stay that way, 50-minute focus session for design work with a library, on a day that started badly or Deep work timer: 50 minutes of data work (white noise), when you cannot concentrate on anything else.