A 25-minute block for studying, with café murmur, when you are too tired to try hard

1 Before you start

• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.

4What to put on

café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.