Focus session · problem solving · 90 min
A 90-minute block for problem solving, with a fan or air conditioner, on a low-energy afternoon
A single 90-minute block for problem solving — before looking anything up.
90:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
If you're tired, you can let that be true. Tired is allowed here. Low-energy afternoons are what this was written for. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
- Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
- Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
2 While the timer runs
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
- When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
3 When it ends
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
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.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.