Focus session · design work · 50 min

50-minute focus session for design work with vinyl crackle, when you have more time than usual

50 minutes on design work — rough versions first. Fifty minutes, the length of a therapy hour, with ten minutes off afterwards.

50:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Begin with the simple fact that you got here. That already happened. This is the longer version, for a day with some slack in it. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.

1 Before you start

  • Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
  • Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
  • Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
  • Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
  • Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

  • When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
  • If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
  • When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
  • When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.

3 When it ends

  • Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
  • Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
  • If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.

4What to put on

vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.

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