50-minute focus block for exam revision — plain quiet, if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• 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 bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.