A 50-minute block for portfolio work, with rain on a window, when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.

4What to put on

rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.