90-minute data work session with distant traffic and a timer, on a low-energy afternoon

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.