50-minute focus session for decluttering with a fireplace, when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• 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.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.