Focus session · reading · 45 min
A 45-minute block for reading, with birds at dawn, before something difficult
A single 45-minute block for reading — pages rather than paragraphs.
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Put a hand on your chest for a moment if that feels steadying. Or don't. Both are allowed. It works best in the hour before something difficult. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
2 While the timer runs
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
3 When it ends
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
4What to put on
birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.
If this block does not fit, try 45-minute focus block for reading — a library, on a day that started badly, 50-minute focus block for editing — a library, when you have just finished work or 45-minute focus session for reading with brown noise, when you are at home and cannot settle.