Focus session · brainstorming · 45 min

A 45-minute block for brainstorming, with a train carriage, after a difficult conversation

A single 45-minute block for brainstorming — quantity before quality.

45:00

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

Let your next exhale be a sigh, if a sigh is what's waiting there. Difficult conversations leave a residue. This is for the residue. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.

1 Before you start

  • Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
  • Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
  • Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
  • If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
  • Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

  • If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
  • When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
  • 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

  • Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
  • Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
  • Have a drink of water before you check anything.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.

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