A 45-minute block for reading, with a fireplace, when you are waiting for something

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

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.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.

3 When it ends

• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

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