Attention is a room, not a switch

When I sit down and tell myself to focus, it almost never works.

When I change the room first — phone in another room, one lamp on, tea already made — focus is almost automatic.

That makes me think attention is less like a heroic switch and more like a room you set up in advance.

For reading sessions, my current setup is:

• one physical book
• one index card for notes
• one timer for 25 minutes

No browser tabs. No stack of choices.

The real trick is reducing choices before the session starts.