SoftlyStillStart now

Focus session · problem solving · 90 min

90-minute problem solving session with distant traffic and a timer, if you are sceptical about all of this

Sit down, press start, and stay with the difficulty for 90 minutes. One full ultradian cycle, for work that needs a long runway.

90:00

Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.

Part of you is still in the last conversation you had. That's fine. It can sit here too. Scepticism is welcome. You do not have to believe anything for this to work. This is a short one, so let's use the time properly.

1 Before you start

  • Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
  • Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
  • Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
  • Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
  • Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

  • If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
  • It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
  • Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
  • If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.

3 When it ends

  • Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
  • Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
  • Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.

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: 50 minutes of drawing (plain quiet), when you feel restless rather than tired, Deep work timer: 45 minutes of data work (a washing machine), when you need to stop thinking about work or 50-minute focus block for thesis writing — distant traffic, when you are at home and cannot settle.