Your hand is what gets you, more than the gel itself. When I space out, my hand relaxes. My fingers curl a little and my thumb rolls inward, so the whole thing drifts toward the edge of the lamp without me noticing. I end up with one side of a nail that got blasted for four solid minutes and a thumb edge that barely saw any light. Sitting flat and still for the right amount of time beats sitting floppy for ages.
No-wipe top coats are the layer most likely to look off after a marathon cure. Mine went slightly hazy and lost that glass shine when I overdid it, which is especially annoying because it’s the last step and there’s nowhere to hide it. Color layers seem way more forgiving.
For the ADHD side, timers did nothing for me since I ignore them.