Focus session · admin and email · 90 min
Deep work timer: 90 minutes of admin and email (café murmur), when you want something simple
One block of admin and email with café murmur underneath. One full ultradian cycle, for work that needs a long runway.
90:00
Press start. The timer keeps time so you do not have to look at a clock.
Feel your ribs move. That is all the machinery you need to pay attention to right now. Simple is the point. There is no advanced version to graduate to. Follow the instructions and let the rest look after itself.
1 Before you start
- Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
- Lower the bar until starting feels almost silly, then start.
- Put your phone in another room, or in a drawer you cannot reach without standing up.
- Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
2 While the timer runs
- If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
- If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.
- 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.
3 When it ends
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
- Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
- If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.
4What to put on
café murmur — The blur of other people talking, with none of the words close enough to follow. Some people concentrate better with a low level of company.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.