A 50-minute block for thesis writing, with vinyl crackle, when you are too tired to try hard

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.

4What to put on

vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.