Focus session for admin and email: 25 minutes, a fan or air conditioner, when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• 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.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.

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.