50-minute focus block for editing — a washing machine, when you cannot concentrate on anything else

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

• 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.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.