Deep work timer: 45 minutes of problem solving (café murmur), when you have already had a long week

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• When you finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
• 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.