50-minute focus session for problem solving with rain on a window, on a low-energy afternoon

1 Before you start

• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.