50-minute thesis writing session with plain quiet and a timer, when you are somewhere unfamiliar

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• 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 your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

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.