50-minute studying session with plain quiet and a timer, when your attention is scattered

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.