Focus session · portfolio work · 25 min
Deep work timer: 25 minutes of portfolio work (a fan or air conditioner), when you have woken up too early
One block of portfolio 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.
Begin with the simple fact that you got here. That already happened. Waking too early is a specific kind of frustrating. This helps with the frustration. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.
1 Before you start
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
- Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
- Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
2 While the timer runs
- When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
- If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
3 When it ends
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
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.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.