50-minute focus session for portfolio work with white noise, when you are at home and cannot settle

1 Before you start

• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• 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 you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.

4What to put on

white noise — Flat across all frequencies and very effective at covering speech. Some people find it harsh after an hour; keep the volume low.