A 45-minute block for research, with distant traffic, when you have been on screens all day

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.

3 When it ends

• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.