Deep work timer: 90 minutes of editing (brown noise), if you are doing this instead of scrolling

1 Before you start

• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.
• Decide what you will do if you get stuck: write the problem out, then move on.
• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Make sure your chair is at a height where your feet are flat on the floor.

2 While the timer runs

• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• When you notice you have drifted, do not restart the block. Just come back and carry on counting from where the timer is.
• If nothing is working, write badly on purpose for two minutes.

3 When it ends

• Leave the desk tidier than you found it. Two minutes now saves ten later.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Resist the urge to review the work straight away. Come back to it later with fresh eyes.

4What to put on

brown noise — Lower and softer than white noise, closer to a waterfall heard from a distance. Good if white noise feels too hissy.