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Focus session · coding · 90 min

90-minute focus session for coding with plain quiet, when you have more time than usual

90 minutes on coding — one function at a time, not the whole system. One full ultradian cycle, for work that needs a long runway.

90:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth. This is the longer version, for a day with some slack in it. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.

1 Before you start

  • Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
  • Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
  • Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
  • Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
  • Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

  • The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
  • Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
  • When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
  • If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

  • Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
  • Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
  • Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.

This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.

If this block does not fit, try 25-minute focus session for admin and email with rain on a window, after eating too much, 50-minute thesis writing session with brown noise and a timer, when nothing else has worked today or 90-minute focus block for practising an instrument — birds at dawn, if you have done this a hundred times.