A 50-minute block for reading, with a stream, when your attention is scattered

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.

4What to put on

a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.