Focus session · data work · 45 min
Focus session for data work: 45 minutes, a fan or air conditioner, if you are doing this instead of scrolling
45 minutes of data work, with a fan or air conditioner and a note on what to do when you drift.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Put both feet flat on the floor and let them take some of the weight. Choosing this over scrolling counts as a good decision, even a small one. We'll go through it in order, without much decoration.
1 Before you start
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
- Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
3 When it ends
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
4What to put on
a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.