Deep work timer: 50 minutes of decluttering (plain quiet), on a day that started badly

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• If you are dreading it, make the first action physical: open the file, sharpen the pencil.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.

3 When it ends

• Stand up and move for at least two minutes. The break is part of the method, not a reward.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.