90-minute focus session for design work with distant thunder, when you are on your own

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• 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.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

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