90-minute admin and email session with rain on a window and a timer, when you are at home and cannot settle

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• 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 finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.