Deep work timer: 45 minutes of studying (a fan or air conditioner), when you have been meaning to start

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• 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.

3 When it ends

• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

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.