Focus session for planning: 90 minutes, a library, when you have tried everything else

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.

3 When it ends

• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.