Focus session for exam revision: 90 minutes, a fireplace, on a low-energy afternoon

1 Before you start

• Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.