Deep work timer: 50 minutes of drawing (plain quiet), when you feel restless rather than tired

1 Before you start

• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.

3 When it ends

• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.

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.