Deep work timer: 50 minutes of research (a fan or air conditioner), if you are doing this in the middle of the day

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.

2 While the timer runs

• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• 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.
• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.

3 When it ends

• Put the notes you made where you will find them next time.
• 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

a fan or air conditioner — A constant mechanical hum with no variation. The lack of change is the point — nothing in it asks for your attention.