50-minute problem solving session with a fireplace and a timer, if you are fitting this around other people

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.