What deep work really needs
Deep work is the focused, undistracted effort that produces your best thinking — writing, coding, designing, problem solving. It cannot be rushed in five-minute gaps between notifications. It needs a protected block long enough to load the problem fully into your mind and stay there. A deep work timer guards that block: you decide the length, press start, and treat the session as non-negotiable until the time is up.
Flowglass keeps the interface quiet so nothing competes with the work. The draining hourglass gives you an ambient sense of time without a distracting clock, and there is no feed, no badges, and no noise.
52/17, 50/10, or 90/20?
There is no single correct length. The well-known 52/17 rhythm — 52 minutes on, 17 off — balances intensity and recovery for many knowledge workers, and it is built into Flowglass. Others prefer 50/10 or a single 90-minute block aligned to the body’s natural ultradian rhythm. With the Custom technique you can set any work and break length and save it as a preset.
Whatever you choose, the break is part of the method, not a reward to skip. A genuine pause — away from screens — is what lets the next deep block be just as productive.
See your deep hours add up
Every session you finish is logged by category, so your deep work hours accumulate into a weekly picture you can trust. Over time, protecting even one or two deep blocks a day compounds into serious output. Start a deep session above, and if you are new to structured focus, read what the Pomodoro Technique is first.