Focus session · design work · 25 min
Deep work timer: 25 minutes of design work (a fan or air conditioner), when you are cold and want to be warm
One block of design work with a fan or air conditioner 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.
If your legs are crossed, uncross them. Small changes count. Get a blanket first. Being cold defeats the point. We'll go through it in order, without much decoration.
1 Before you start
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
- Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
2 While the timer runs
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
3 When it ends
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
4What to put on
a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.
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