Focus session · problem solving · 25 min
Focus session for problem solving: 25 minutes, distant thunder, on a low-energy afternoon
25 minutes of problem solving, with distant thunder 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.
Drop your attention from your head into your chest for a second. Low-energy afternoons are what this was written for. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
- If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
2 While the timer runs
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
3 When it ends
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
distant thunder — Low rumbles with long gaps. Suits people who find sudden noises more distracting than constant ones.
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