45-minute focus block for planning — a train carriage, before you go back to something hard

1 Before you start

• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• 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.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.

2 While the timer runs

• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.