Focus session for studying: 90 minutes, distant traffic, when you have been meaning to start

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.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.

3 When it ends

• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

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