50-minute focus block for portfolio work — distant traffic, when you have more time than usual

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• 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.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.