Focus session · portfolio work · 45 min
45-minute focus block for portfolio work — a fan or air conditioner, when you only have a few minutes
A timer, a short prep list, and 45 minutes to finish the pieces.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
If you're tired, you can let that be true. Tired is allowed here. A few minutes is the whole requirement. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- 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".
- Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
2 While the timer runs
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
3 When it ends
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
- 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
a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.