45-minute focus block for portfolio work — birds at dawn, after eating too much

1 Before you start

• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.