45-minute focus block for planning — café murmur, if you are doing this instead of scrolling

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.

3 When it ends

• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.

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.