50-minute data work session with birds at dawn and a timer, when you are cold and want to be warm

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.