Deep work timer: 50 minutes of practising an instrument (a fireplace), if you have done this a hundred times

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
• Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
• Tell yourself the goal is time spent, not output produced.
• Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel restless, change your posture rather than your task.
• When you catch yourself re-reading the same sentence, stop and write down what you were looking for.
• The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.