A 90-minute block for planning, with café murmur, when you have just finished work

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.

2 While the timer runs

• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.