Focus session for applications and forms: 50 minutes, distant traffic, when the day has been loud

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.

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.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.