50-minute editing session with a fan or air conditioner and a timer, when you have been on screens all day

1 Before you start

• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• 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.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.