Focus session · practising an instrument · 90 min
90-minute practising an instrument session with plain quiet and a timer, when the day has been loud
Sit down, press start, and drill the hard bars for 90 minutes. 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.
Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing. For days that were loud from the moment they started. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- 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.
2 While the timer runs
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- 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
- 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.
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
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.
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