I've tried a lot of focus apps and they all handle the part I don't have trouble with. Picking a duration, blocking some apps, starting a timer — that's fine. Where I actually lose is about 20 minutes in, when something pops into my head or my phone buzzes and I feel a pull to go check it. If I wait it out, it's gone in ten seconds. If I follow it, I've lost half an hour. That's the whole reason Undertow exists: a normal focus timer with one addition — a button for that exact moment. You're mid-session, you feel the pull, you tap "Pulled" instead of acting on it. You get a 10-second ride-out and then go back into the session. It keeps count of how many times you did that instead of quitting. It uses a diving metaphor throughout because that's what it feels like to me. A session is a dive. The urge to check your phone is a pull toward the surface. Finishing is staying under. Native SwiftUI, iPhone only. I work in data, not software, so this was a long side project and there are rough edges. Known limits: iOS won't let any app block Messages or Phone, there's no iPad version yet, no Android. The part I'm genuinely unsure about is whether the "Pulled" button actually helps or just feels like a gimmick. That's what I'd most like to hear from you all.

Undertow Focus

Ride out the urge to scroll

Ride out the urge to scroll