A 90-minute block for exam revision, with a library, when you have more time than usual

1 Before you start

• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• 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 get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.

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.