Focus session · planning · 50 min
A 50-minute block for planning, with a stream, when you are too tired to try hard
A single 50-minute block for planning — on paper, so you can see it.
50:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Notice whether you're leaning forward. Most people are, slightly, all day. Too tired to try hard is exactly the right amount of tired for this. We'll go through it in order, without much decoration.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
2 While the timer runs
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
3 When it ends
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
4What to put on
a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.