Focus session · brainstorming · 45 min

A 45-minute block for brainstorming, with distant traffic, when the day has been loud

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.

Part of you is still in the last conversation you had. That's fine. It can sit here too. For days that were loud from the moment they started. 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.
Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.

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.
If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.

3 When it ends

Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
Have a drink of water before you check anything.

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 50-minute focus block for editing — white noise, when you need to stop thinking about work, 25-minute focus block for portfolio work — brown noise, on a low-energy afternoon or 25-minute focus block for brainstorming — a library, when you need something unremarkable.