A 25-minute block for design work, with distant traffic, when your attention is scattered

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.