What's your tips for deep work ?

Yesterday I spent 5 focused hours and shipped a V0 of a marketing site for my project about to be announced.
No magic — just a tight entry ritual, a simple work structure, and a lot of no’s.

What I shipped is not the matter here, but I would love to hear what is your best deep-work tips.

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1) The entry ritual

After kissing my little Akita (my favorite dog in the world), and pour my coffee, I started my session.

Goal: tell my brain it’s time to tunnel in.

• Ambience: desk lamp + essential-oil diffuser (olfactory anchor)
• Audio: a single playlist/video (synthwave mostly hehe), low volume (no headphones; I keep an ear out for my dog)
• Phone: who cares, no one will call me so.

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2) The structure

Nobody stays at 100% for 5 hours. I slice it up:

• Block 1 — 1h45: hardest part (architecture, UI skeleton, routing)
• Break — 15–20 min: water + tiny walk and of course hugs with my dog.
• Block 2 — 1h30: “logical” features (contact form, blog list/detail, etc.)
• Break — 20–30 min: light snack / stretching, and of course hugs with my dog.
• Block 3 — 1h45: finish (responsive, polish, light animations, commits)

Golden rule: timer visible, hard stop when it rings, even if “I could finish”.

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3) Anti-drift: micro rules

• One lane only: no “what if I just try…”. The lane is chosen before starting.
• Zero social (obvious, but writing it down helps).
• Max 1–2 tabs (IDE + browser).
• Brain dump: intrusive ideas go into Notion immediately, not my head.

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4) What worked best

Sensory ritual (light + scent): it's dumb but super effective to enter flow.

5) What didn’t

Context-switch temptations: “just checking changing the song…” -> result 10 minutes searching for a good mood song.

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Your turn — share your best deep-work tips

I’d love to learn from you:

• A bulletproof entry ritual that never fails?
• A timer structure you like better than mine?
• Music/sounds that snap you into flow instantly?
• An anti-drift technique that works (especially remote)?
• Your non-negotiable rules during a session?

Drop your tips in the comments, I'd love to learn from you.