Focus session · brainstorming · 25 min

A 25-minute block for brainstorming, with a fan or air conditioner, when you have just finished work

A single 25-minute block for brainstorming — quantity before quality.

25:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Start by hearing the furthest sound you can find. The gap right after work is the easiest one to use. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.

1 Before you start

  • Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
  • Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
  • Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
  • Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
  • Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

  • If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
  • If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
  • When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
  • Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.

3 When it ends

  • Have a drink of water before you check anything.
  • Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
  • Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

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.