90-minute focus block for practising an instrument — birds at dawn, if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.