45-minute thesis writing session with a library and a timer, when you are too tired to try hard

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• 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.
• 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.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

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.