A 90-minute block for brainstorming, with rain on a window, if you are doing this in the middle of the day

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.

2 While the timer runs

• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.

4What to put on

rain on a window — Steady rain is broadband noise with a slow natural rhythm. It masks speech and keyboard clatter without being interesting enough to listen to.