A 45-minute block for decluttering, with a fireplace, when the house is busy

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.