Deep work timer: 25 minutes of admin and email (vinyl crackle), when you only have a few minutes

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.