A 25-minute block for writing, with rain on a window, when you have tried everything else

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.