FindFocus

Anti-procrastination app for Mac to break bad online habits

1 follower

Anti-procrastination app for Mac to break bad online habits

1 follower

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Launch tags:Mac•Productivity•Tech

Launch Team / Built With

Render Sandboxes: a computer for every agentIsolated compute, persistent state and a real filesystem

Promoted

First off, let me come clean by saying I'm a stage 4, terminal procrastinator. And, I like tinkering with computers. I've tried applications like this in the past, but all of them have been relatively easily circumvented. So, I ask, can the time-based locking functionality be broken by simply setting your system clock (just in System Preferences, no Terminal magic required) forward by X number of hours/days and then reverting to the correct local time? If not, consider me a customer.

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@jason_d_rowley Hi Jason, thanks for pointing that out. I tested this and indeed it was possible to break the time-based lockdown, as described. With an app like this people really get creative to find a way to turn it off. We will work hard to solve these "bugs" as they are discovered. (I think of it as bugs) Saying that I just spoke to my developer, and we will fix the time settings workaround in the next few days. Of course, I cannot guarantee that some clever developer will find another way to stop the app. We will work really hard to make plug these leaks to make sure there is no easy way to turn it off. The beauty of this app is that it does not either block websites and apps or not. You should be able to use all the websites you want, but it should be so difficult during your working hours that it's much easier to continue being productive instead of visiting distracting websites.

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@jason_d_rowley: As of today, we fixed this issue. There is no way to cheat and turn of FindFocus by playing with you time preferences anymore. :)

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

Hello Product Hunt, and thanks to @bramk for hunting! I have to confess I'm addicted to checking my email, and texts and Facebook. I actually noticed that most of my friends or folks I don't even know that well are in the same boat. It’s the impulse to check a message notification. It’s the pull to visit YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter for just a few minutes, only to find yourself still scrolling an hour later… as @nireyal and @rrhoover wrote in the introduction of their book Hooked - How to build habit-forming products. I built FindFocus to help myself and others actually do work during work hours.A desktop app that supports customizable blocking of social profiles to create productive routines. (No more cheating on your chrome extension by switching your browser. Sorry @hialexlam). FindFocus helps you stop procrastinating while using your Mac and so you can replace bad online habits with highly productive ones. What’s different about FindFocus: - Delay Discounter: Want to break your habit of checking emails every few minutes? Just block yourself from gmail and your local email client. You can unlock every time but have to wait 5 minutes (or whatever time you like) - Independent “blocking profiles” (Unlock your email client but Facebook and ProductHunt stays blocked until your lunch break) - 6 different unlock options with various difficulty to match the protection with the addictiveness of the sites and services you use. - Pomodoro timer: Create a sequence of profiles and start it anytime - Break Enforcer: Force yourself to take more breaks during the day. You can use use the unlock options to “protect your break” when you want to postpone it or force yourself to take a break. Over the last 9 month, we have built every feature into the app that we could think of to keep you on track and make you more productive. We are incredibly excited (and nervous 😳) about this version - and want to make sure it’s perfect for you. SO… I'M CURIOUS - what are you addicted to when it comes to tech, email, texts or social media? Where do you procrastinate? Just curious. Comment below. I just want to stack all the addictions I have vs. everyone else! Haha. P.S. Would love any feedback you have on the app, thanks for checking us out! 😍

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9yr ago

TopicRanker

@martinboeddeker @bramk @nireyal @rrhoover @hialexlam Pretty sweet app. I have to say I struggle with email, I spend all my time in my inbox and feel like I never get anything done. I guess answering email is work for me as well but I have a ton of real work which actually needs to get done. Not sure if anyone else is in my boat? I turned off email on my phone three years ago and it has helped a lot. I also took off twitter and fb off the phone, actually closed by FB all together, this helped even more. Still struggling with email, twitter, youtube taking up my time. Looking forward to giving this a try. Martin - so this thing will just watch me all the time and not let me procrastinate, even on the weekends when it's allowed?

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@dragilev Thanks for the kind words. I only use google maps & WhatsApp on my phone. (Just trying to get rid of WhatsApp as well). But I still need my computer to get work done. What's different about FindFocus is that you can 100% customize it and design your perfect routines and online habits. The scheduler will allow you to create a unique structure for every day of the week. You can keep use to keep yourself from using distracting website or apps in during the work day. If you have a tendency to become a workaholic you can lock yourself from work-related stuff in the evening. (Or at least make it a bit harder to continue working because rest is really important as well)

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9yr ago

This is awesome! I love it. I have one question about Delay Discounter. What is it for and how does it work? Thanks.

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@jaouedahmed "Delay Discounting means: The longer you have to wait for a reward, the less it is worth to you. It's a term I learned from Kelly McGonical's book "The Willpower Instinct". Our brains are wired for instant gratification. The reward for working on your startup is much further away that a quick email check or checking your facebook status. However, if you delay the rewarding action - even for a few minutes - your brain heavily discounts this reward and you are much more likely to continue to do the really important work.

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9yr ago

I like the idea and the product. But is there going to be a version on Windows, cause I would really like to try it?

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@zgjimdida Thanks for asking. The first priority is to fix the bugs that are discovered from our new users thanks to the expose here on PH. However, the development for Windows is really far and we plan to release a version for Windows in the next 2-3 weeks.

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9yr ago

would love to see a fix to this problem in the next update .. Please ?

Pros:

every feature you could think of when it comes to blocking [ the most feature packed blocking application i've ever seen ]

Cons:

it consumes too much battery, but you can avoid this by monitoring the app usage with an other app called "apptamer"

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8yr ago

Up Sonder

Great Idea! Loving it! I'm early with it so I'll have to report back if I become more productive, but it's looking good.

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@dwaleko Most important when starting is that you know what you want to accomplish and plan it in detail. Building new habits is not that easy and takes consistency. If you do not plan, it's really easy to fall back into old habits because you turn off the app. That's why I think it's best to use the scheduler in Fort Knox mode (meaning you cannot change your settings) but make it really easy to pause the app for 10-20 minutes to get used to your new habits. This prevents you from browsing random stuff but you will stay flexible for a quick research or any other short task you might need to do.

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9yr ago

Testing the app...Everything looks amazing but I'm having an issue. I added my first profile, so far findfocus is blocking the apps that I added to the profile but I'm still able to open the websites that I wanted to maintained blocked (the social website pre-made group). I'm using firefox... @martinboeddeker

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9yr ago

FindFocus

Maker

@steven_gonzalez_lugo Thanks for testing the app. Unfortunately, the app does not support Firefox at the moment cause it lacks some API functions that Chrome and Safari provide. We would need to create an extra plugin for Firefox to make it work. Since not that many people use Firefox on Mac we decided to focus on Chrome, Safari & Vivaldi. Sorry. Of course, you can simply block Firefox and use one of the supported browsers.

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9yr ago

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