One area that many people currently struggle with is staying focused while working. There are so many distractions that it can be difficult to keep your attention on the task at hand. Social media and other online pursuits can make it even harder to finish your tasks and do a great job. Fortunately, there are many apps for focus that can help.
6 Best Apps for Focus
Here are 6 apps that will help you to improve your mental focus and be productive.
1. Focus
With the Focus app, you can seamlessly implement the Pomodoro Technique while effectively blocking any potential distractions during your work sessions.
Unlike browser extensions, which can be easily bypassed, Focus operates as a system-wide blocker. Once you initiate a work session, it becomes challenging to circumvent its restrictions.
In case you find yourself tempted to visit blocked websites, Focus presents you with inspiring quotes to motivate and uplift you. However, if you prefer a different approach, you have the freedom to replace these quotes with any content of your choice. For instance, if being sternly admonished works better for you than receiving inspiration, you can customize Focus accordingly.
2. Self Control
This free Chrome extension is a great way to really focus on the task at hand. Self Control blocks access to set websites that you feel you spend too much time one. Its distraction-free mode prevents you from removing block patterns from the app for a fixed amount of time, which is great if you have a tight deadline or you need something to help you resist the urge to wander away from your work.
3. Forest
You can use Forest on smartphones and can also access it as a Chrome extension. When you use Forest, you will plant a tree seed that, over the next 30 minutes, will grow into a beautiful tree. However, your tree will wither away if you give into temptation and begin to browse any of the websites on your Blocklist.
This app offers a sense of achievement and visual reinforcement in the form of a forest that continues to grow the more you focus on what’s in front of you.
4. Freedom
Many of the apps on this list are somewhat limited as they only work on the device you’re using at a given time. Freedom is different as it allows you to block distractions—both websites and apps—on all of your devices, simultaneously. This helps you resist the urge to jump over to your phone if you really want to check Facebook but it’s blocked on your computer.
With Freedom, you can also set up as many blocklists as you want, then start or schedule a session for a certain period of time. There’s also a lockdown mode, which makes it impossible to edit your blocklists while a session is active. All of these features make for great productivity sessions, where you will actually get things done.
Price: Premium starts at $6.99/month
5. Cold Turkey
If you need an app for Windows or macOS that is extra strict and will keep you on task, no matter how many times you say “please,” Cold Turkey is for you. It comes with a default distraction list of distracting apps and websites, or you can customize your own; you can even block the entire internet if you want!
To keep yourself from caving to urges, you can lock your block with a password, between a time range everyday, until a restart, during scheduled blocks, or after typing in a customizable amount of random text.
Because this is a system-wide tool and not just a browser extension, you can’t work around it by changing browsers. There’s even a special setting that blocks your computer entirely, which is great if you promised your family a work-free weekend!
6. RescueTime
RescueTime at its core is a productivity tracker, but it includes features that also allow you to “turn off” distracting websites. Even with a free lite plan, you’ll receive productivity reports that show how much time you spend on productive tasks and how much time you’ve devoted to sites you label as distractions.
When you’re able to see exactly how much time you are spending on certain sites, you’ll be more likely to challenge yourself to lower that time and focus on what really matters, which is what makes this app so valuable.
Bottom Line
Whether you need a to-do list app to help you with task management, a website blocker to help you resist the urge to let your mind wander, or a sound app to create an ideal work environment for focus, each of the featured apps for focus can help.
Identify what is causing you to get distracted each day and choose the app that is most likely to help. You’ll be amazed and how much more you get done each day.
