Focus session for brainstorming: 90 minutes, a fireplace, when you are doing this for the first time

1 Before you start

• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.