Focus session · data work · 45 min
45-minute focus block for data work — café murmur, when you have tried everything else
A timer, a short prep list, and 45 minutes to work through the numbers.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is. This assumes you have already tried the obvious things. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.
1 Before you start
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
- Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
2 While the timer runs
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
3 When it ends
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
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.