Focus session · portfolio work · 90 min
Focus session for portfolio work: 90 minutes, a washing machine, when you cannot concentrate on anything else
90 minutes of portfolio work, with a washing machine 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.
Keep your eyes open if you like, resting on one point of the floor a metre or two ahead. When concentration is gone, work with what is left. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
- Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
2 While the timer runs
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
3 When it ends
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
- Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
4What to put on
a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.
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