45-minute focus session for reading with distant thunder, when you are not in the mood

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.