Focus session for data work: 90 minutes, a washing machine, when you only have a few minutes

1 Before you start

• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.