Deep work timer: 45 minutes of portfolio work (a fan or air conditioner), on a day that started badly

1 Before you start

• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.

2 While the timer runs

• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.

3 When it ends

• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.

4What to put on

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.