45-minute focus session for design work with a washing machine, after eating too much

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• 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

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.