A 45-minute block for data work, with rain on a window, when you only have a few minutes

1 Before you start

• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

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.