Focus session for portfolio work: 90 minutes, distant traffic, on a day that started badly

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.

3 When it ends

• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.