Deep work timer: 90 minutes of editing (plain quiet), if you are doing this in the middle of the day

1 Before you start

• Close the door, or put headphones on, whichever signals "working" to the people around you.
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Expect to want to stop at about the eight-minute mark. That is normal and it passes.
• Go to the toilet first. It sounds trivial until you are mid-sentence.

2 While the timer runs

• If the task suddenly feels impossible, make it smaller rather than stopping. One paragraph. One function. One row.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.
• If you are suddenly sleepy, stand up for ten seconds and sit back down.
• When you have drifted for the fifth time, that is still four returns. Keep going.

3 When it ends

• Write down the question you could not answer, so it has somewhere to live.
• Have a drink of water before you check anything.
• Leave the file open if you are coming back. Closing it makes restarting harder.

4What to put on

plain quiet — No added sound at all. If you have a quiet room, that is usually better than any recording of one.