Focus session · coding · 45 min
45-minute focus block for coding — café murmur, when you are doing this for the first time
A timer, a short prep list, and 45 minutes to work through the problem.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Rest your hands somewhere they don't have to do anything. If this is your first go, stay with the plainest version of the instructions. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- 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.
- If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
3 When it ends
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
4What to put on
café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.