quiet hours · the notebook

Latest writing.

Essays, measurements and post-mortems on attention, tools and the habits behind deep work. A new story every other Thursday.

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Two colleagues reading printed charts and taking notes beside their laptops

research Sep 14, 2026 9 min read

What we found when we logged every interruption for 30 days

We instrumented four phones and two laptops, then read the logs as a team. Interruption count turned out to be a poor predictor of a bad day. Interruption timing was not.

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earlier stories

A lived-in home desk with a laptop, a copper mug, a plant and string lights

design 6 min read

A desk setup that survives a noisy household

Two roommates, one street-facing window, and a keyboard that announces itself. Here is what actually moved the needle.

Sep 8, 2026

A cat asleep under a white duvet, the picture of proper rest

attention 5 min read

The difference between boredom and rest

Not every unfilled minute is recovery. A short test for telling which one you are actually getting.

Sep 1, 2026

A hand ticking items off a hand-written checklist in a grid notebook

habits 7 min read

Three weeks with a paper to-do list

I moved everything onto a single index card. The card was never the hard part; the crossing out was.

Aug 26, 2026

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