Productivity
Deep Work Timer
A long, protected block for cognitively demanding work. Fifty or ninety minutes, no notifications, no exceptions.
Deep Work Timer
50:00
Ready
- Ends at
- —
- Elapsed
- 00:00
Settings
Space start or pause · R reset · F full screen
What this one is for
- 50 or 90 minute blocks
- Notifications off before you start
- Real break at the end
Demanding work has a warm-up cost, usually ten to twenty minutes before anything useful happens. That is why short blocks suit admin and long blocks suit thinking. It opens at 50:00; change that with the chips under the dial.
Worth knowing
- Fifty minutes for a cold start, ninety once you are already warm.
- Notifications off before you begin, not muted halfway through.
- Stopping mid-sentence makes the next session start in seconds.
Getting the most from the deep work timer
- Name the task in one sentenceWith a verb in it. If it will not fit in a sentence, the task is too big for one block.
- Start before you feel readyMotivation follows starting, not the other way round. The countdown is the commitment device.
- Write the next action before you stopTen seconds now saves four minutes of reorientation next time.
Related timers
Questions people ask
How long should a deep work block be?
Fifty minutes for a single session, ninety if you are warmed up and undisturbed. Beyond two hours without a break, quality falls off for almost everyone.
Does the deep work timer work on a phone?
Yes, in any mobile browser. It asks to keep the screen awake while it runs so the alarm is not missed.
What if I finish before the alarm?
Use the remaining time to set up the next block: name the task and open what you need. That is the cheapest minute you will spend all day.