90-minute focus block for planning — distant thunder, when you want to be left alone

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• 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.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.