Focus session · thesis writing · 45 min
Deep work timer: 45 minutes of thesis writing (distant traffic), when you have been putting it off
One block of thesis writing with distant traffic 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.
Turn your phone face down if it's within reach. If it's in another room, even better. You have been putting this off. Starting is the only step that matters. No preamble. We start with the body.
1 Before you start
- Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
- Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
- Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- 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.
- When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
3 When it ends
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
- Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
4What to put on
distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.