Focus session · exam revision · 90 min

90-minute exam revision session with brown noise and a timer, when the day has been loud

Sit down, press start, and test yourself for 90 minutes. One full ultradian cycle, for work that needs a long runway.

90:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

If you're sitting, let the chair do the work of holding you upright. For days that were loud from the moment they started. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.

1 Before you start

  • Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
  • Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
  • Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
  • Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
  • Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

  • If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
  • When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
  • If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
  • If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

  • Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
  • Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
  • Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.

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