Focus session · portfolio work · 90 min
Focus session for portfolio work: 90 minutes, a train carriage, if you are sceptical about all of this
90 minutes of portfolio work, with a train carriage and a note on what to do when you drift.
90:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first. Scepticism is welcome. You do not have to believe anything for this to work. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
2 While the timer runs
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- 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 finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
3 When it ends
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
4What to put on
a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.