A Kata is short. Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. There's no slack in the protocol for the first five minutes to be wasted on a kid who's hungry, distracted, or upset. Set the conditions up first, then start the timer.
The state of the kid
Not hungry. A snack or a meal first. Math is cognitively expensive; a kid running on empty will hit a wall three minutes in.
Not exhausted. Right after school is fine for most kids. Right after a sports practice is usually not. Right before bed works for some kids and not for others — you know your kid.
Not sick. If the kid has a fever or a head cold or is running a low-grade something, skip the day. The protocol can absorb one missed day if the rest of the week is tight; it can't absorb a week of half-attempted sessions because the kid felt off.
The state of the room
No TV. No radio. No music with words. Background sound steals attention from the part of the brain doing the multiplication. If the kid wants ambient sound, instrumental is fine. Lyrics are not.
No siblings doing something more interesting in the same room. If the four-year-old is watching cartoons three feet away, the ten-year-old is going to spend half the Kata watching cartoons.
Quiet, well-lit, and a flat surface. Kitchen table. Desk. Couch with a tray. Any of those work. A bed doesn't, in my experience — kids fall asleep on beds.
The emotional state
Don't pile this on top of a punishment. If the kid just brought home a bad grade and you're frustrated, give them ten minutes and a hug before sitting down to do a Kata. If they're already in tears about something, postpone. Kids who feel bad about themselves can't learn well.
I framed Scotty's protocol around being grounded until he was done with the day's session. That worked for our specific situation and our specific kid. It is not a generic recommendation. You know your kid better than I do. The point isn't the punishment; the point is the daily commitment. Find the version of that commitment that works for your family.
The two rules I tell every kid before they start
Idle hands. If you know the answer, type it. If you don't know the answer, guess. If you can't guess, use the calculator. Whatever you do, keep moving. Sitting and staring at the screen for thirty seconds doesn't teach you anything. The point is the next problem.
Eat an elephant one bite at a time. Don't think about the Kata. Don't think about how many problems are left. Don't think about whether you'll finish in fifteen minutes. Look at the problem in front of you. That's the only problem that exists. Solve it. Then look at the next one.
What to do when it's done
When the Kata is done, the Kata is done. No bonus round. No "let's do one more if you have time." The deal was one Kata, and the kid finished it. Whatever you promised them — screen time, a snack, freedom — pay up.
Tomorrow, do it again.