45-minute drawing session with a fan or air conditioner and a timer, before something difficult

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.