50-minute planning session with distant traffic and a timer, after a difficult conversation

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.