Focus session · design work · 90 min

Deep work timer: 90 minutes of design work (a library), when you are somewhere unfamiliar

One block of design work with a library 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.

Let your eyes soften. Not closed, just less busy. It travels well. Hotels, spare rooms, other people’s sofas. No preamble. We start with the body.

1 Before you start

Have a piece of paper beside you for the thoughts that will try to interrupt.
Decide that today's session does not have to be good. It has to happen.
Close every tab that is not needed for this one task. Not minimised — closed.
Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.

If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
Notice whether you are working or performing work. They look similar from the outside.
If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.

Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.
Have a drink of water before you check anything.
Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

a library — Almost nothing: distant footsteps, a chair, a page turning. Useful if you want the feeling of a room where work is normal.

This page is a tool, not a course. Nothing is tracked, nothing is saved, and nobody is told whether you finished.