Focus session · problem solving · 45 min
45-minute focus session for problem solving with a library, if you are doing this in the middle of the day
45 minutes on problem solving — before looking anything up. 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.
Unclench your jaw. You were probably holding it without noticing. Midday is an underrated time for this. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
- Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
2 While the timer runs
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
3 When it ends
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Have a drink of water before you check anything.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
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.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.