Focus session · design work · 45 min
Deep work timer: 45 minutes of design work (café murmur), when you have been putting it off
One block of design work with café murmur 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.
Begin with the simple fact that you got here. That already happened. You have been putting this off. Starting is the only step that matters. Keep it simple: breath in, breath out, notice.
1 Before you start
- Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
- Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
2 While the timer runs
- 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.
- If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
- When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
3 When it ends
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
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.
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