A 45-minute block for problem solving, with a library, when you are on your own

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

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.