Focus session · problem solving · 25 min
25-minute problem solving session with rain on a window and a timer, when you want something simple
Sit down, press start, and stay with the difficulty for 25 minutes. 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.
Let your belly be soft. Not sucked in. Just soft. Simple is the point. There is no advanced version to graduate to. No preamble. We start with the body.
1 Before you start
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
- Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
2 While the timer runs
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
- If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
- 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 get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
3 When it ends
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
4What to put on
rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.