Focus session for applications and forms: 50 minutes, a train carriage, after a difficult conversation

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

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.