A 25-minute block for editing, with a library, when you have woken up too early

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.