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Focus session · problem solving · 90 min

90-minute problem solving session with a stream and a timer, after eating too much

Sit down, press start, and stay with the difficulty 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.

Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands. Do this sitting up, not lying down, if you have just eaten. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.

1 Before you start

  • Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
  • Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
  • Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
  • Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
  • Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

  • If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
  • If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
  • When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
  • The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

  • Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
  • Have a drink of water before you check anything.
  • Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.

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 45-minute focus block for coding — distant traffic, when you want something simple, A 50-minute block for editing, with a fireplace, when you want something simple or Focus session for planning: 50 minutes, white noise, when you are not sure this will work.