Focus session · reading · 50 min
50-minute reading session with a washing machine
Sit down, press start, and read properly for 50 minutes. Fifty minutes, the length of a therapy hour, with ten minutes off afterwards.
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Let the first out-breath be longer than the in-breath. Nothing dramatic, just longer. It works with other people in the house. You do not need silence. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
2 While the timer runs
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
3 When it ends
- Have a drink of water before you check anything.
- Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.
If this block does not fit, try Deep work timer: 25 minutes of exam preparation, 90-minute exam revision session with plain quiet or Deep work timer: 45 minutes of writing.