Deep work timer: 45 minutes of drawing (white noise), if you are new to this

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• 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.
• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".

2 While the timer runs

• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

4What to put on

white noise — Flat across all frequencies and very effective at covering speech. Some people find it harsh after an hour; keep the volume low.