45-minute focus block for research — forest at dusk, when you are doing this for the first time

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

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.