A 45-minute block for portfolio work, with a library, when you have more time than usual

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.