A 90-minute block for brainstorming, with a library, on a low-energy afternoon

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• 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.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.