45-minute focus block for portfolio work — a fireplace, when nothing else has worked today

1 Before you start

• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.