Focus session for drawing: 45 minutes, café murmur, when you are not in the mood

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.