Focus session for practising an instrument: 45 minutes, a washing machine, when you have more time than usual

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• 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 feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• 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.