Focus session for drawing: 45 minutes, a stream, when you want to be left alone

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.

4What to put on

a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.