50-minute focus block for writing — forest at dusk, when you are not in the mood

1 Before you start

• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.