Deep work tracking, explained
Deep work is Cal Newport's name for professional work done in a state of distraction-free concentration that pushes your abilities to their limit: writing, designing, programming, analysing, learning something hard. It is the opposite of shallow work such as email, chat and meetings. Tracking it, rather than total hours at your desk, shows how much of your time goes to the work that matters, and makes it easier to protect.
Why log sessions instead of just using a timer?
A timer helps you start. A log helps you improve. After a few weeks you can see which days and hours you focus best, which projects get your attention and which only feel like they do, and whether more distractions mean lower focus ratings. A visible streak and heatmap make consistency rewarding: a short session on a busy day still keeps the chain going.
25, 50 or 90 minutes?
| Length | Good for |
|---|
| 25 minutes | Getting started, tasks you resist, the classic Pomodoro rhythm |
| 50 minutes | Most knowledge work: long enough to get into it, short enough to stay sharp |
| 90 minutes | Writing, coding and design work that needs a long warm-up |
| Open | Flow you don't want to interrupt; stop when you're done |
Take a real break between sessions: stand up, look into the distance, drink some water. Most people manage three to four hours of truly deep work a day, which is why the default daily goal is four hours.
Counting distractions
Every time you notice you've switched to your phone, email or a random tab, press D and go back. You don't need to fight the urge perfectly: noticing it is the skill. The log shows distractions per hour of focus, which tends to drop once you see it. Turning off notifications, closing chat and putting your phone in another room help more than willpower; the focus audio mixer can mask background noise.
Rating your focus
Not all hours are equal. A quick one-to-five rating after each session separates the hours where you were truly in it from the ones spent half-distracted. Compare your ratings by time of day with the When you focus chart and plan your hardest work for your best hours.
The weekly review
Once a week, look back: how many hours of deep work did you do, on which projects, and what did you finish? The weekly review button writes that summary for you, including the list of completed sessions, so you can paste it into a journal, a status update or your plan for next week.
Private by design
Your sessions are stored in your browser's local storage, on this device only. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. That also means clearing your browser data deletes the log, so export a JSON backup now and then; the same file moves your log to another browser or computer. Logs from the previous version of this tool are imported automatically.