Focus session · research · 90 min
A 90-minute block for research, with distant thunder, when you need something unremarkable
A single 90-minute block for research — with a note file open beside you.
90:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Let your forehead smooth out. Most of us hold a small frown there all day. Nothing dramatic happens here, and that is deliberate. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
2 While the timer runs
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
- If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
3 When it ends
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
4What to put on
distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.