Deep work timer: 25 minutes of practising an instrument (a library), when you are cold and want to be warm

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.