Focus session for problem solving: 25 minutes, forest at dusk, when you have been putting it off

1 Before you start

• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• 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.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

forest at dusk — Birds settling, leaves moving, nothing sudden. It works because it sounds like a place you can safely ignore.