Focus session for applications and forms: 25 minutes, plain quiet, when you need to stop thinking about work

1 Before you start

• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• 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.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.