Tinker Dabble Doodle Try

Use an alarm:

Your first focused period can be longer than the rest—you can go more like seventy-five minutes before breaking for some unfocus—but thereafter strive for fifteen minutes of unfocus for every forty-five minutes of focus. When

four identities as you course through this book: the Jazz Musician, the Dancer, the Futurist, and the Inventor. You have at least one

There is no hard data on this point, but I find it’s most effective to take fifteen minutes off for every forty-five minutes you spend focusing.

In addition to these short daily breaks, build in a time slot for an event that will break up the monotony of your week—perhaps

when people are under stress, and they give themselves a “do not” instruction, their brains will do the exact opposite of what they want. So ditch the self-admonitions!

Create a tinkertable: