Focus session · editing · 45 min
Deep work timer: 45 minutes of editing (white noise), when you have just finished work
One block of editing with white noise 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.
Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing. The gap right after work is the easiest one to use. No preamble. We start with the body.
1 Before you start
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- Choose one question to answer in this block, rather than a whole subject to cover.
- Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
- Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
- Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
2 While the timer runs
- When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
3 When it ends
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
- 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.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.