Focus session · brainstorming · 45 min
Deep work timer: 45 minutes of brainstorming (a fireplace), after a difficult conversation
One block of brainstorming with a fireplace underneath. A single class period, the length most people can hold before the quality drops.
45:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Start with the noise that is already in the room. We are not going to try to remove it yet. Difficult conversations leave a residue. This is for the residue. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
- Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
- 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.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
3 When it ends
- Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
- 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.
4What to put on
a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.
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