Focus session for admin and email: 45 minutes, a train carriage, when you feel restless rather than tired

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.