50-minute focus session for reading with birds at dawn, when the house is busy

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• 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 notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.