Focus session · language practice · 25 min
Focus session for language practice: 25 minutes, vinyl crackle, when the weather has kept you inside
25 minutes of language practice, with vinyl crackle and a note on what to do when you drift.
25:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth. Bad weather is a decent excuse to stay in and do this. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
- Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
2 While the timer runs
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
3 When it ends
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
4What to put on
vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.
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