Focus session for planning: 25 minutes, brown noise, when you need to stop thinking about work

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• 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 the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.