Focus session · research · 45 min
45-minute research session with a library and a timer, when you are somewhere noisy
Sit down, press start, and follow one thread 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.
If you're lying down, let the mattress hold all of you. You can stop holding yourself up. Noise is fine. You are not trying to hear anything subtle. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
2 While the timer runs
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
3 When it ends
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
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.