Focus session for writing: 50 minutes, a washing machine, when you have tried everything else

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• 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".
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• 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 have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.

3 When it ends

• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

4What to put on

a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.