Focus session · design work · 50 min
50-minute focus block for design work — a train carriage, when you have been putting it off
A timer, a short prep list, and 50 minutes to make decisions.
50:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Begin with the simple fact that you got here. That already happened. You have been putting this off. Starting is the only step that matters. We'll go through it in order, without much decoration.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
2 While the timer runs
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
3 When it ends
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.