A 45-minute block for applications and forms, with distant thunder, when you have tried everything else

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• 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.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.