Today I launched Focus Buddy by SidePerch, and I want to properly introduce it to this community, because the whole product came from one small realization.
My focus sessions never failed because the timer was bad. They failed because the timer was invisible. It lived in a tab behind thirty other tabs, and out of sight meant out of mind. So Focus Buddy lives where you cannot lose it: a small floating widget docked to the edge of your screen. The countdown sits in the corner of your eye while you work. Click it and it expands into a full focus card. Click away and it folds back. That is the core idea, and everything else grew around it.
Start a Pomodoro, a Flowmodoro, or your own intervals in one click. While you work, it plays rain, ocean or wind that is synthesized live on your Mac, which means the sound never loops, never repeats a pattern, and never needs internet. You can even hear the exact engine running in your browser on the website before paying anything. Your Spotify or Apple Music is controllable right from the card, so you never leave the session to skip a song.
Then it makes the habit stick. There is a daily goal, a streak you will not want to break, and an insights dashboard that eventually tells you the truth about yourself. Mine showed me I am useless after 9pm, and that one chart changed how I plan my days. When you finish a deep session, one tap drops your stats onto a photo so you can post your focus like a run recap. Hours, sessions, streak. Proof of work, made beautiful.
Hey Product Hunt! 👋
I want to be honest about why this app exists. I kept failing at focusing. Not because I lacked discipline apps, I had all of them, but because my timer always lived somewhere I could not see it. A tab behind thirty other tabs, a window behind my notes. Out of sight, and ten minutes later I was on my phone wondering where the session went.
So I built the thing I quietly wished existed: a small timer that sits at the edge of the screen, always in the corner of my eye, never in my way. Click it and it opens into a full focus card. Click away and it folds back into its corner. That tiny change, just making the timer visible, fixed more of my focus than any productivity system I ever tried.
Then I kept going, because focus is not only about a countdown. I gave it rain, ocean and wind that are generated live on your Mac, so the sound never loops and never needs internet. I gave it a streak, because I needed a reason to come back tomorrow. I gave it stats that eventually told me something embarrassing but useful: my brain is basically done after 9pm, and no amount of coffee changes that. And I gave it a share card, so when you finish a deep session you can put your hours on a photo and post it like a run. It sounds cheesy. It is also the thing that made the habit stick for me.
One promise I refused to compromise on: your data is nobody's business. There is no account, no cloud, no tracking. Everything stays on your Mac, and the app touches the internet exactly once, to activate your license.
It costs $15 once and it is yours forever, on up to 3 Macs, with every future update. There is a $3 monthly option if you want to test the waters first, and a 14 day refund either way, no questions asked. For today, the code PHLAUNCH takes 20% off the lifetime license.
This is my first solo dev launch and I am a little nervous posting it here. I will be around all day. Ask me anything, especially the hard questions, and if something about it feels wrong to you, tell me. I can still change course. 🙏