A 90-minute block for data work, with a fan or air conditioner, when you want something simple

1 Before you start

• 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.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• 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.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.

4What to put on

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.