A 25-minute block for brainstorming, with birds at dawn, when you are doing this for the first time

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.