Focus session · practising an instrument · 45 min
45-minute focus block for practising an instrument — forest at dusk, when the day has been loud
A timer, a short prep list, and 45 minutes to drill the hard bars.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Notice the heaviest part of your body right now. Let it be heavy. For days that were loud from the moment they started. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.
1 Before you start
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
2 While the timer runs
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
3 When it ends
- Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
4What to put on
forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.