Focus session for exam revision: 45 minutes, a library, when you want something simple

1 Before you start

• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.

2 While the timer runs

• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.