Focus session · editing · 45 min
45-minute focus block for editing — café murmur, when you feel fine and want to stay that way
A timer, a short prep list, and 45 minutes to cut and tighten.
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. Feeling fine is a good reason to do this, not a reason to skip it. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
- Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
2 While the timer runs
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
3 When it ends
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Have a drink of water before you check anything.
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.
If this block does not fit, try Focus session for design work: 90 minutes, a washing machine, when you have been putting it off, 90-minute focus block for portfolio work — a library, when you want something simple or 50-minute focus block for practising an instrument — brown noise, when you have been on screens all day.