Focus session · problem solving · 45 min
45-minute problem solving session with brown noise and a timer, when you have been on screens all day
Sit down, press start, and stay with the difficulty for 45 minutes. 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.
Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is. After a day of screens, the eyes and the shoulders need this first. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
- Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
2 While the timer runs
- If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
3 When it ends
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
4What to put on
brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.
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