Focus session · language practice · 50 min
Deep work timer: 50 minutes of language practice (a train carriage), when you are somewhere unfamiliar
One block of language practice with a train carriage underneath. Fifty minutes, the length of a therapy hour, with ten minutes off afterwards.
50:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first. It travels well. Hotels, spare rooms, other people’s sofas. Straight through, at a normal pace.
1 Before you start
- Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
2 While the timer runs
- Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
- If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
- 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 finish a piece, pause for three seconds before starting the next. It keeps the pace honest.
3 When it ends
- Take the break away from the screen, even if it is just the other side of the room.
- Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
- Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
4What to put on
a train carriage — Rhythmic, low, and slightly rumbly. Many people find the motion-and-noise combination easier to work to than silence.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.