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Focus session · studying · 25 min

A 25-minute block for studying, with distant traffic, after a long day

A single 25-minute block for studying — reading and notes, not highlighting.

25:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Let the first out-breath be longer than the in-breath. Nothing dramatic, just longer. Use it at the end of a long day, not at the start of one. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.

1 Before you start

  • Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
  • If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
  • Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
  • Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
  • Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.

2 While the timer runs

  • When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
  • When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
  • If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
  • If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

  • Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
  • Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
  • Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

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

This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.

If this block does not fit, try 90-minute exam revision session with plain quiet and a timer, when you have been on screens all day, 25-minute focus session for thesis writing with a fan or air conditioner, when you are at home and cannot settle or 50-minute writing session with a washing machine and a timer, when you are not sure this will work.