Deep work timer: 90 minutes of problem solving (vinyl crackle), if you are fitting this around other people

1 Before you start

• Decide what counts as done for this block. "Two pages" is better than "make progress".
• Remind yourself that you are allowed to produce something mediocre in the first pass.
• Get water now, so you do not have to get up in fifteen minutes.
• Plan to leave the last two minutes for writing down where to pick up next time.
• Decide now what you will do when the timer ends. Otherwise the decision will eat the first five minutes.

2 While the timer runs

• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If a thought will not leave, give it one line on the page and return to the task.
• If your attention keeps sliding, shorten the next block rather than abandoning this one.
• When the timer feels too long, look at it less. The clock is not the task.

3 When it ends

• Roll your shoulders and your neck before the next block.
• Say the session is finished, out loud if you can. It marks the boundary.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.

4What to put on

vinyl crackle — A thin layer of surface noise over nothing much. Just enough texture to stop the room feeling empty.