A 90-minute block for editing, with a stream, when you have been on screens all day

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.

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.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.

3 When it ends

• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.