Focus session · planning · 25 min
Deep work timer: 25 minutes of planning (distant traffic), when you have tried everything else
One block of planning with distant traffic 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.
There is nothing to get right here. Nothing is being scored. This assumes you have already tried the obvious things. No preamble. We start with the body.
1 Before you start
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
- If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
3 When it ends
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
- Have a drink of water before you check anything.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.
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 50-minute focus session for research with café murmur, when you feel fine and want to stay that way, 50-minute focus session for design work with vinyl crackle, when you have more time than usual or 90-minute focus block for data work — rain on a window, when you need to stop thinking about work.