Focus session · reading · 90 min
90-minute focus block for reading — a fireplace, when you feel restless rather than tired
A timer, a short prep list, and 90 minutes to read properly.
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Begin with the simple fact that you got here. That already happened. Restless is different from tired, and it needs a different approach. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.
1 Before you start
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
- Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
- If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
2 While the timer runs
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
3 When it ends
- Have a drink of water before you check anything.
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
4What to put on
a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.
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 A 90-minute block for data work, with a stream, when the day has been loud, Deep work timer: 50 minutes of planning (distant thunder), when you are too tired to try hard or Deep work timer: 45 minutes of planning (vinyl crackle), when you are not in the mood.