90-minute focus block for language practice — a train carriage, when you have been meaning to start

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.