45-minute focus block for research — plain quiet, after a difficult conversation

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.