A 50-minute block for editing, with brown noise, when you have already had a long week

1 Before you start

• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• 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.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• 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.

4What to put on

brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.