A 25-minute block for admin and email, with brown noise, if you are fitting this around other people

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.