Before the session: make the start small
- Choose one substantial task. Pick something that benefits from sustained attention: outline a proposal, reason through a design decision, analyse a set of results or draft a difficult section.
- Write the question. Examples: “What is the simplest way to explain this?” or “Which of these two approaches fits the constraint?” A good question gives attention somewhere to go.
- Define a finish line for this block. It may be a draft, a decision, a tested idea or a list of unresolved questions—not necessarily the whole project.
- Stage the materials. Open the files and references you will need. Close or hide what is unrelated. If you need information from someone else, request it before you sit down to work.
Protect attention without overengineering
Choose a realistic window based on the task and the day. Tell collaborators when you expect to be available again if that is appropriate. Silence only the channels that are safe to silence, and keep a simple capture place nearby for unrelated thoughts; write them down and return to the work rather than following each one.
You do not need an elaborate ritual or a perfect, distraction-free room. The goal is to reduce avoidable decisions at the moment you begin. If you have limited energy, a short prepared session can be more useful than waiting for an ideal afternoon.
End with a restart note
Before leaving the work, record what you completed, what remains uncertain and the next physical action. “Continue research” is not a restart note. “Compare the two pricing tables and check the support limit” is. This takes a minute and saves you from reconstructing your thinking later.
Place deep work in a week that can hold it
Do not treat every open hour as available. Check your calendar for fixed commitments, then place only a few focused tasks in the remaining capacity. Cadence helps make those tasks visible across the week and lets you move them when plans change; it is not a calendar importer or a deep-work timer.
Use the weekly capacity planner to estimate room. If the session is a study block or a writing session, the same rule applies: pick one task with a clear finish line, protect a quiet stretch for it, and plan short intervals with breaks rather than one long sitting.
A session plan you can copy
| Part | Minutes | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up | 5 | Close mail and chat, open only what the task needs, write the outcome on paper |
| First block | 50 | Work on the hardest part first |
| Break | 10 | Stand up, no screens |
| Second block | 50 | Continue; note stray thoughts on paper instead of acting on them |
| Shutdown | 5 | Write where you stopped and the next step |
How many sessions a week?
For most people with meetings and clients, three or four sessions of about two hours is ambitious and enough. Put them on the days with fewest calls, in the part of the day when you think best, and treat them like an appointment with a client. One protected session that happens beats five planned ones that do not.
What ruins a session
- Starting without knowing the outcome.
- "Just checking" messages at the break.
- Choosing a task too vague to begin.
- Scheduling it straight after a draining meeting.
Where Cadence fits, and where it does not
Cadence is a weekly planner for Mac and iPhone: one board, a column per day, tasks you drag when plans change. It has no timers, projects, tags or recurring tasks, so the method on this page is something you run yourself and place into the week. It costs $19 once for Mac, with no subscription and sync through your own iCloud. More in the weekly planner guide.
Try it this week
- Choose one piece of work that needs real thought.
- Book two hours for it on your quietest morning.
Afterwards, write down what you produced. One good session a week is a sound base to build on.
Questions people ask
How long should a deep-work session be?
Ninety minutes to two hours for most people. Beyond that, quality drops unless you are well practised.
Morning or afternoon?
Whenever you are sharpest and least interrupted. For many that is the first two hours of the day, before mail.
What if I am interrupted?
Deal with it, write one line about where you were, and restart with a shorter block. A broken session is not a failed day.
Should I listen to music?
If it helps you start and has no words competing with the work, yes. Silence or steady background noise suits most reading and writing.