90-minute brainstorming session with plain quiet and a timer, when you need to stop thinking about work

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.

2 While the timer runs

• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• 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.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• 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.