45-minute focus session for applications and forms with a library, when you need something unremarkable

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.