Deep work timer: 45 minutes of writing (a library), when you want to be left alone

1 Before you start

• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.

2 While the timer runs

• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.

3 When it ends

• Write one line about where to start next time. Future you will be grateful.
• Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

4What to put on

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.