90-minute focus block for drawing — plain quiet, before something difficult

1 Before you start

• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

• 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.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.

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.