50-minute focus block for practising an instrument — plain quiet, on a low-energy afternoon

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• 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.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

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.