A 50-minute block for practising an instrument, with a train carriage, if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.