Focus session · applications and forms · 50 min

Focus session for applications and forms: 50 minutes, a washing machine, if you are new to this

50 minutes of applications and forms, with a washing machine and a note on what to do when you drift.

50:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first. Nothing here assumes you have done this before. We'll go through it in order, without much decoration.

1 Before you start

  • Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
  • Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
  • Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
  • Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
  • Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

  • 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.
  • If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

  • Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
  • Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
  • Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.

This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.