Focus session · planning · 50 min
50-minute focus block for planning — rain on a window, before something difficult
A timer, a short prep list, and 50 minutes to decide what happens when.
50:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Rest your hands somewhere they don't have to do anything. It works best in the hour before something difficult. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.
1 Before you start
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
- Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
2 While the timer runs
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
3 When it ends
- Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
4What to put on
rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.
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