90-minute focus session for admin and email with distant traffic, when you are short on time

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.