Focus session for data work: 25 minutes, forest at dusk, when you have already had a long week

1 Before you start

• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.