Focus session · admin and email · 90 min
Deep work timer: 90 minutes of admin and email (distant traffic), when you are cold and want to be warm
One block of admin and email with distant traffic 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.
Keep your eyes open if you like, resting on one point of the floor a metre or two ahead. Get a blanket first. Being cold defeats the point. This works better when you don't overthink it.
1 Before you start
- Clear the surface in front of you down to the thing you are working on.
- Let go of the version of this task you imagined doing perfectly.
- Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
- Promise yourself you will not check anything until the timer ends, including "just quickly".
- Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.
2 While the timer runs
- When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
- The first urge to stop usually arrives early. Sit through it once and the second one is quieter.
- It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
- If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
3 When it ends
- Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
- Do not immediately open the thing you were avoiding. Give the block a proper end.
- Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
4What to put on
distant traffic — A low continuous wash from a road you are not on. Familiar and easy to stop hearing.
This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.