Deep work timer: 25 minutes of data work

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.

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.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• 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.