Deep work timer: 90 minutes of decluttering (birds at dawn), when the weather has kept you inside

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Give yourself permission to stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence.
• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Write down the one thing you are going to do, in a single sentence, before you start.

2 While the timer runs

• If you feel the urge to check something, write it on the paper beside you and keep going. Deal with the list afterwards.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• When you get an idea for something else, park it. Do not follow it.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.

3 When it ends

• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• 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

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.