90-minute focus block for exam revision — a stream, when you have woken up too early

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• 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.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.

4What to put on

a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.