Focus session · problem solving · 45 min
45-minute focus block for problem solving — a stream, when you cannot concentrate on anything else
A timer, a short prep list, and 45 minutes to stay with the difficulty.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing. When concentration is gone, work with what is left. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.
1 Before you start
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
2 While the timer runs
- Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
3 When it ends
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
4What to put on
a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.
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