Deep work timer: 25 minutes of problem solving (a fan or air conditioner), when you cannot concentrate on anything else

1 Before you start

• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.

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.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

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.