Deep work timer: 45 minutes of coding (a train carriage), when you are cold and want to be warm

1 Before you start

• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Decide in advance that a bad sentence is still progress.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.