Focus session for planning: 25 minutes, birds at dawn, after a long day

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.