Focus session · admin and email · 50 min
50-minute focus block for admin and email — brown noise, when you only have a few minutes
A timer, a short prep list, and 50 minutes to clear the queue.
50:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first. A few minutes is the whole requirement. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
2 While the timer runs
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
3 When it ends
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
4What to put on
brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.
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