A 90-minute block for language practice, with forest at dusk, if you are doing this instead of scrolling

1 Before you start

• 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.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.

2 While the timer runs

• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

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.