25-minute focus session for research with plain quiet, if you are doing this in the middle of the day

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.