Focus session · brainstorming · 90 min
A 90-minute block for brainstorming, with forest at dusk, when you have tried everything else
A single 90-minute block for brainstorming — quantity before quality.
90:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing. This assumes you have already tried the obvious things. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
2 While the timer runs
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
3 When it ends
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
- Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
4What to put on
forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.