Focus session · design work · 25 min
Deep work timer: 25 minutes of design work (a fireplace), when you feel restless rather than tired
One block of design work with a fireplace underneath. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Take a moment to notice the room behind you, without turning around. Restless is different from tired, and it needs a different approach. We'll be efficient and then you can get on with your day.
1 Before you start
- Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Set the timer where you can see it, or where you can deliberately not see it.
- Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
2 While the timer runs
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
- When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
3 When it ends
- Have a drink of water before you check anything.
- Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
4What to put on
a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.
If this block does not fit, try 90-minute admin and email session with forest at dusk and a timer, when you have been putting it off, 50-minute focus session for research with a train carriage, when you need something unremarkable or 45-minute coding session with a fireplace and a timer, when you want to finish something.