Focus session · research · 25 min
25-minute research session with a train carriage and a timer, before you go back to something hard
Sit down, press start, and follow one thread 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.
Turn your phone face down if it's within reach. If it's in another room, even better. Five minutes here is cheaper than an hour of grinding. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
3 When it ends
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
4What to put on
a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.