90-minute focus session for design work with forest at dusk, when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.

4What to put on

forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.