50-minute exam revision session with vinyl crackle and a timer, when you want something simple

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.