Focus session · planning · 45 min
Focus session for planning: 45 minutes, café murmur, when you have been meaning to start
45 minutes of planning, with café murmur and a note on what to do when you drift.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands. You have been meaning to start. This is the least intimidating way in. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.
1 Before you start
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
- Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
- 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.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
2 While the timer runs
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
3 When it ends
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
4What to put on
café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.
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