Focus session for coding: 25 minutes, distant thunder, if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.