Focus session · studying · 45 min
Deep work timer: 45 minutes of studying (a stream), when you are somewhere unfamiliar
One block of studying with a stream 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. It travels well. Hotels, spare rooms, other people’s sofas. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.
1 Before you start
- Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
- Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
2 While the timer runs
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
- When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
- If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
3 When it ends
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
a stream — Running water with small variation. Softer than rain and less repetitive than a fan.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.