Focus session · exam revision · 45 min
45-minute focus session for exam revision with a stream, when you have just finished work
45 minutes on exam revision — recall rather than re-reading. A single class period, the length most people can hold before the quality drops.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Notice the heaviest part of your body right now. Let it be heavy. The gap right after work is the easiest one to use. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
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 feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
- If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
3 When it ends
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
4What to put on
a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.
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