Deep work timer: 25 minutes of planning (a train carriage), when you are waiting for something

1 Before you start

• 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.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.