Deep work timer: 25 minutes of decluttering (a washing machine), when you are short on time

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.

3 When it ends

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.

4What to put on

a washing machine — Domestic, mechanical, and oddly steadying. The sound of something else being dealt with.