Focus session · coding · 45 min
45-minute coding session with a fireplace and a timer, when you want to finish something
Sit down, press start, and work through the problem for 45 minutes. A single class period, the length most people can hold before the quality drops.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Take a moment to notice the room behind you, without turning around. Wanting to finish something is a better motivation than wanting to relax. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
3 When it ends
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
4What to put on
a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.