Focus session · thesis writing · 90 min
90-minute thesis writing session with a fan or air conditioner and a timer, on a day that started badly
Sit down, press start, and add to the pile 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.
Loosen your grip on whatever you're holding, or imagine loosening it. A day that started badly does not have to stay that way. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
- Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
2 While the timer runs
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
- When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
3 When it ends
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.