45-minute focus session for exam revision with birds at dawn, when you cannot concentrate on anything else

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.