Focus session · problem solving · 25 min
25-minute problem solving session with vinyl crackle and a timer, when you are cold and want to be warm
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 shoulders drop about a centimetre. That is roughly where most of us keep the day. Get a blanket first. Being cold defeats the point. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.
1 Before you start
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
- Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
2 While the timer runs
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
3 When it ends
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
4What to put on
vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.
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