Deep work timer: 45 minutes of coding (café murmur), if you are tired of apps

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.

4What to put on

café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.