A 50-minute block for editing, with birds at dawn, when the day has been loud

1 Before you start

• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• 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 start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.