Focus session · decluttering · 25 min
Deep work timer: 25 minutes of decluttering (a library), on a low-energy afternoon
One block of decluttering with a library underneath. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.
25:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is. Low-energy afternoons are what this was written for. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.
1 Before you start
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
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 nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
3 When it ends
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
4What to put on
a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.