Deep work timer: 90 minutes of drawing (a fireplace), when your attention is scattered

1 Before you start

• Dim the screen slightly. Bright screens make long sessions harder than they need to be.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• 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.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• 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 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

• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.
• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• If it went badly, note one thing that worked anyway. There is usually one.

4What to put on

a fireplace — Crackles and a low roar underneath. Warm, irregular, and undemanding.