Deep work timer: 90 minutes of reading (birds at dawn), when you are too tired to try hard

1 Before you start

• Take one slow breath before you press start, so the session has a beginning.
• Accept that the first five minutes will feel like wading. Wading counts.
• Turn off notifications for the next block, not just to silent.
• Remember that motivation usually arrives after starting, not before.
• Put the thing you keep reaching for out of arm's reach.

2 While the timer runs

• It is fine to stare at the wall for a minute. That is often where the answer is.
• If you are stuck, say the problem out loud. It changes what you can see.
• Notice the moment your hand moves toward your phone. That moment is the whole skill.
• If you are bored, the boredom is usually the last thing before something clicks.

3 When it ends

• Note what you actually got done, not what you meant to get done.
• Decide whether the next block is the same task or a different one. Do not drift into it.
• Look out of a window for thirty seconds. Your eyes have been at one distance for a while.

4What to put on

birds at dawn — Bright but not sharp. Better for early sessions than for late ones.