Deep work timer: 90 minutes of brainstorming (café murmur), if you are doing this in the middle of the day

1 Before you start

• Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.
• If your mind is already racing, write down the three loudest thoughts before you begin.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.
• If you start tidying your desk, that is avoidance. Sit back down.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• 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

• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.

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.