Focus session for writing: 45 minutes, café murmur, if you are new to this

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.

2 While the timer runs

• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.