Deep work timer: 45 minutes of drawing (vinyl crackle), when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.

4What to put on

vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.