The Study Session Protocol

Everything on this list happens before the timer starts, every time.

• Materials out: only what this topic needs, everything else off the desk.
• Name one target in writing: “This sprint: chapter 4, practice questions 1 to 6.”
• Timer visible where your eyes already are.
• Water within reach, phone silenced and face down or in another room.
• One blank parking note beside you for the stray thoughts.

Two minutes of setup is the price of a session that doesn't wobble. Pay it every time.

Skipping setup to save time costs you the first sprint instead.

1. Start the 25. Work the named target only; stray thoughts go on a parking note.
2. Timer fires: stop mid-sentence if needed, and write the next sprint's target in one line.
3. Break 5: stand, water, window. No feeds — scrolling is a second task, not a rest.
4. Repeat two to four rounds, then end the session on purpose.

Stopping after round four is the method, not quitting early. You are banking tomorrow's easy start.

One or two honest sprints on a bad day still count as a session. The protocol scales to the battery you brought.

The session is not done when the last sprint ends. It is done after this.

• Close the materials. Blank page, two minutes on the timer.
• Brain-dump everything that stuck: facts, steps, the one confusing bit.
• The confusing bit becomes the next session's first target.
• Then you are done — you are allowed to leave.
• Log nothing else, review nothing else. The dump was the review.

When the full protocol feels impossible, run this instead of nothing.

1. Set the timer to 5 minutes instead of 25. One micro-sprint.
2. Only rule: touch the material. Open it, read one paragraph, write one ugly line.
3. When the 5 ends, choose again: another round or stop. Both count.
4. Still stuck? Name why in one sentence — that sentence is tomorrow's setup.

A five-minute touch is a real session. The branch exists because starting is the hard part — not because you are failing the protocol.