A 25-minute block for exam revision, with a fireplace, when you have been putting it off

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.