Focus session · practising an instrument · 25 min
Focus session for practising an instrument: 25 minutes, a train carriage, when you have woken up too early
25 minutes of practising an instrument, with a train carriage and a note on what to do when you drift.
25:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
If you're tired, you can let that be true. Tired is allowed here. Waking too early is a specific kind of frustrating. This helps with the frustration. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.
1 Before you start
- Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
3 When it ends
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
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.