At least somewhat distracted basically ALL THE TIME
I have ADHD and this app really helps me control it. It allows my brain to see that I only need to focus on whatever I’m doing for a set amount of time and then I can take a break for a set amount of time. Without this app my breaks end up taking longer than my study time, so I basically just take breaks to study and then go back to doing whatever else I’d rather do and am actually able to focus on. It also helps remind me that I can’t procrastinate because I am being timed. Therefore, this app is especially helpful on days when I don’t just have 1 or 2 assignments to get done, but I actually have 4 assignments due that day and 2 I need to do from the day before and then 2 others that I should have gotten done A WHILE ago but I didn’t have the motivation, energy, or focus in order to do so. In conclusion, IF YOU HAVE ADHD THEN YOU SHOULD GET THIS APP. And if you get it, then don’t be like me and USE IT OFTEN. ADHD doesn’t have to define you. It can be a superpower when used correctly. YOU GOT THIS! YOU ARE CAPABLE, SMART, MOTIVATED, FOCUSED, BRAVE, AND CREATIVE! Also if you are like me and have been labeled as “slow” your whole life, then here is an important reminder: YOU ARE NOT SLOW! YOUR BRAIN JUST WORKS DIFFERENTLY. YOU JUST HAVE DIFFERENT SUPER POWERS AND STRENGTHS! The hard part is remembering that and learning how to use and control them in order to be our best selves.
I have been using this app for over a year and I can’t put into words the amount of satisfaction it brings me. Everything is just the way I would want and imagine to make if I were to design the app; simple and rather minimalistic (compared to most other apps) but contains all of the features I would need to be completely happy (the last of which was added very recently — deadline button). No clutter and very user friendly. It was very addictive to me; so be careful. I bought the paid version too to be able to synchronize my data and have it in all of my devices. However, the only sad part about this is that (at the moment) I don’t think I will be able to transfer the data I have been collecting for over a year from my unpaid version to my paid version to be able to keep and display it as well. So for now I keep using the unpaid version until I either find a different way of transferring it, or the developer adds a feature like that, or I get enough courage to say “goodbye” to my lovely and diligently collected large data set. Despite remaining an unpaid version used while having the paid version, I have no regrets at all for my purchase and I hope the developer gets many more people discovering his apps and becoming as happy as I am with it/them. THANK YOU!
I used another timer before switching to BeFocused which worked for a while and then started having idiosyncrasies. It would stop if I was playing a podcast or answered the phone and then not it wouldn’t start up automatically. It didn’t let me know that it stopped timing. Not only does BeFocused keep time unless I stop it, it asks that I start each timer. I like this because if I’m in the middle of something, the “break” timer doesn’t start until I tell activate it. The free version allows the user to set up their own timer schedule. Also I can run the timer for various different tasks. I did this at first. Now I just run the timer regardless if I’m working on administrative stuff or specific projects. I don’t need to keep that close an eye on my time but can if I want.
I just upgraded to Pro and wanted to use its ability of tags and csv exports to analyze how I spent my time. I’m thinking: 1. Is it possible to also add “tag” in the exported csv? 2. Does the app have access to the local time for each task, ie. when it started/ended? This might be more difficult because people can pause the timer, and the start-to-end local time can be confusing. Maybe just recording the start time makes more sense. Just some humble ideas that I thought would improve my own time-analysis, I understand if they’re not that cost-effective. Just wanna say really love this app you guys made:)
After downloading a few pomodoro apps, I liked this one the best due to it's simplicity, and that it has the features I wanted. It includes an alarm, easy to categorize your "focus" times, and make any adjustments if needed. A lot of other apps were very complex. I wanted something I could learn in the matter of seconds. If your main focus is to spend more deliberate times, why spend too much time learning an app? I am able to categorize my work, study, and free time. I'd recommend to the developers to create a feature where you can enter your own manual time, more of a time management tool. That would make a good addition, making the app a more robust. Even for $1.99, I'd buy it. Especially since I would want to enter my time I'm wasting. I could compare how much I'm spending on productive time vs wasteful times.
I have used this app for about a week or so, it is simple but also practical, so till now I have chosen to use app among several others that I have installed.I like the way you can customize sessions and breaks, sounds, tasks. The one annoying feature for me is lake of dark mode theme on the app, the widget has dark mode but unfortunately the app theme doesn’t change to a dark mode. Look forward for an update and thanks for your efforts to keep it free. Also as a suggestion it would be great if the app has a Lock Screen widget while using it, I mean having some sort of widget as the one in the homepage but on the Lock Screen to show you how much time is left without unlocking the phone. Kind Regards 🙏🏼
Seeing as how this app hasn’t been updated in over a year, I doubt anything will be done about this. It tracks time and tasks well, I like the categorization of tasks feature. My issues lie with the Watch app being hit or miss as to whether you can begin tracking from the app. Sometimes it works, I can literally see the clock ticking away. Then I check it a few minutes later and it has reset as if it was never started in the first place, and no progress is logged for the task even if the allotted time has passed. Which brings me to my second issue... notifications. The app is again unreliable in chiming when time is up. It does this on both the phone and the watch. It makes it difficult to take breaks when time is up, or to know when a break is over and it’s time to begin working again.
Thanks so much for this app! I don’t usually write reviews but this app really deserves it. I’ve been trying to increase my productivity for many years and be more “intentional” about where I allocate my time during the day, and this app allows me to do exactly that, not only by using the popular “Pomodoro” technique but… being able to sync IN REAL TIME across my different devices! (work MacBook, personal MacBook and iPhone). And on top of that it give you pie chart with all the different tasks and intervals. Simple and brilliant. Thanks so much to the developer from a Software Engineer myself.
If you just want to use this as a basic 25/15 timer with no extra features, this app will work fine. But the feature that lets you give the items on your task list custom times doesn't work. You can set it to whatever time, but as soon as you hit start, it's going to go for 25 regardless of what you set it to. Also, there's a blank task item you can't get rid of that's just kinda there for no reason. You can't even edit it to use it for one of your tasks. You can edit the time but not the name. The basic timer works, but there are plenty of other pomodoro apps that are just a timer. The point of choosing this one was that it supposedly had some extra features, but they don't work.
I love using this app. They say you learn better and can focus more if you break your work into short blocks of time. It’s also not good to sit for too long. This app helps remind me to take a break. I set it to do 20 minute blocks with five minute breaks after each block and a long 15 minute break after four blocks. I get up and move around during each break. It’s easy to loose track of time but this app fixes that issue. I also love that it tracks everything so I’m able to see how productive I’ve been at the end of the day.
Not all apps need a million buttons and whistles and this app proves that true. It’s simple, clean, and easy to use. If you’re like me and tend to get up every 5 minutes because whatever, this is a great app to help keep you on track! You can change the work and break times to fit your schedule which I really enjoy. I like to work for 35 minutes and break for 10 instead of the default 25 min work/5 min break. I like that you can also add a label to your “work” so you can keep track of your time spent on multiple projects.
I love this app, I’ve been using it a couple of months and it really helps me get instant gratification for working towards long-term goals. It’s really nice to look back at the end of the day and see how much time I actually managed to take advantage of. I appreciate that it has a streamlined interface and but that I can still sort my focus periods into groups. Also, I know some people mentioned they didn’t like that it couldn’t freeze your phone during focus sessions but for me that’s a benefit - sometimes I need it for hw.
I like this app for the way it has introduced me to this technique and for helping me realize how important it is to take breaks. I also like that both the on-task time and the break time can be varied. I’ve tried a few different intervals to see which blanks work best for me. I guess the only thing I don’t like is that it seems as though the longer I use the free version the more frequently the “buy premium version” ad pops up and interrupts my use of the app. That’s the main reason for four stars instead of five. I can handle of the banner ads but I don’t like it when I am interrupted while trying to use this tool.
This app combines the effective "pomodoro technique" with helpful customization on an easy-to-use platform. Users can choose the standard 25-minutes-of-work and 5-minutes-of-rest approach, or personalize the sessions and break times to fit their personal needs and goals. A wonderful bonus is the range of alerts available. I have come to rely on the sounds of the "victory" chime telling me I have finished a session and the "train whistle" signaling the end of a break. Frankly, I don't know if I would have finished my current writing project without Be Focused. All in all, this is a great app!
Love the simplicity of it. The ability to set multiple tasks that are saved and then go into the 25 min timer is awesome. I wish like my phone alarm I could choose to still have the completion of time make a noise/vibrate when done even when my phone is clicked to vibrate mode on the side. Also wish I could change the ticking sound to other sound options that are not as loud without changing my entire phone volume at times but hey this app is awesome and one of my favs to use, thank you for making it!!
For one thing, as I am trying to learn the basic mavigation I am distracted by banner ads and pushes to upgrade. Dude, I am not going to upgrade before I know what the app really does. I consider that to be taking advantage of the impulsivity of adhders. the company knows people with adhd are impulsive shoppers and they want to "get them" while they are buzzing about the novelty of a new app. Trust me on that one. Second, i plugged in one task for last night. It's done and it wont go away now. I hit the only button I see ( top) which says"done" , it erases the task until I switch pages. Come back and the task is still there. At which point I give up. Not interested and don't need the stress
So far this app is doing everything I want it to and more. I wanted a timer to help with focus and got that plus a clean representation of where I'm spending my time. Apple watch integration is great too. UPDATE After a couple of days of use, the app started"losing" timers... I ran it for an entire morning (three or four cycles of work) and then it was just... gone. Timers that I started on my watch didn't show on the app on my phone... and so on. I've gone back to using a regular multi-timer app for my pomodoro needs.
Love this app, it’s super useful just a few tweaks would turn it to a five star app. 1. Ability to have multiple tasks with different interval times. Currently I have to go to settings to switch the time for different types of tasks. 2. Ability to create a recurring task or to duplicate a previous task would work as well. None of the current pro features are enticing enough to go pro BUT the above features would totally be worth the money. Having said that, I think this app is so incredibly helpful as is and worth using without having to pay for pro.
I tried about 6 different Pomodoro apps, even paying for a few, and this is by far the best for me! SO user friendly, allows you to do a lot of the stuff you have to pay for with other apps (e.g. create different projects and then the ap keeps track of how many 25 min segments you have spent on each project, charts showing you how you’re using your time). This is a really great app and I may upgrade to pro just to support you all even though the free version is so good. Thanks!
I find it hard to focus and am constantly jumping from one task to another. This simple timer helps me stick to one thing for a pre-determined time. I make a list of all those other things that pop into my head and tend to them later. When I use it for work, I know how many 25 min intervals make a good workday and then I can use that as a goal to have high focus days. It also reinforces brief and longer breaks. I have used it for years and gladly gave my $0.99 for this useful app.
I like that this app is easy to use and tracks how many blocks of work you've done. I also love the sounds it features. However, I'm not receiving sound notifications when the time is up. I am getting a banner, but it would be very helpful if I could also receive a sound notification. I did check that my phone would allow sound notifications from the app, and made sure that my phone wasn't on silent. The app did send me a notification the first time, but not after that Otherwise, great app!
It’s amazing that the use of a simple timer can keep me focused. On the days when I use this app, I get more done than I thought possible. When I tell myself that I don’t need the app - well, my productivity falls apart. I gave it four stars because I can’t figure out how to delete tasks from the task list when they are done. I also wish there was a feature where the user could estimate the number of “pomadoros” that a task would take and then compare that to the actual number. It would be helpful in calibrating and estimating time for future tasks.
I’m an engineer, so I like to collect data about myself, whether its my health data or even what I did that day with Life Cycle. Data is knowledge, and knowledge is power, so I’d like for this app to communicate with my Life Cycle app somehow so that I may look back on how long I worked on a project or studied. I think one way to do this would be either through the Health App or the Workouts App’s communication to Life Cycle. Studying is technically a mental workout, so I’d like to see that data shared with Workouts with the workout name being the subject of that task in BeFocused.
This app has helped me fight mental fatigue through 12 hour study days and I could not be more thankful! My productivity has skyrocketed! One suggestion: While the tracker for number of work intervals completed resets daily, the short break vs. long break setting does not. (Ex: After my second work session this morning, I was told to take a long break.) If you could make the “long break after” setting reset with each day as well, it would be greatly appreciated!
When my boyfriend suggested I install this app to get my many tasks completed for building my business, I went along with it. Now I'm addicted because my brain loves to be told to focus for short periods of time. It keeps me on task in such a simple yet effective way. If I didn't have the timer set to one specific task, I would spend hours or all day on one item. That so easily leads to me being overwhelmed and burning out. So, thanks for the simple app and thanks, CB, for the suggestion <3
I’ve been using this app on and off for a year til recently the last 6 weeks I’ve been very consistent and I love the mini break timers I get to keep from burning out and deflating my brain while I study. Highly recommend for busy moms, business owners, and students to help keep you on track! Also it’s very satisfying to see my productive stats over whatever period set of time I set it to so see my progress.
I work from home and the BeFocused app really helps me get my work done without getting distracted and without taking more time than is necessary for a particular task. I love that the app is customizable. I set different intervals based on my schedule for the day the chronometer for certain tasks, like grading papers, that are easy to spend too much time on. Bonus the frequent breaks keep me from sitting too long and I get a few chores done between work sessions.
I’ve been trying to find an effective pomodoro app that connects to my watch to keep me on task. After giving this one a shot for a day I already had two major issues. The first issue I have is the inconsistency with which my watch tells me my time is up. Sometimes it buzzes to let me know and sometimes it doesn’t. My second major issue is the discrepancy between my phone and my watch. It’s like they’re on two separate timers. I’ll pause it on my watch but it keeps going on my phone which leads to my phone telling me I’m due for a break when really I’m not. I guess I’ll keep looking for an app that meets my needs.
So far I love the app. Probably one of the better (free) Pomodoro style timers available. There are a few things keeping it from being perfect. For starters, it seems to reset back to 25 minutes every so often which interrupts my workflow. It doesn't tell you when this happens so often I'll check my timer and I'll realize it's at 25 minutes when I should be starting a break soon. This is mildly annoying as it only happens every once in a while and brings it down about half a star in terms of rating. The other issue is that the task list is somewhat unintuitive with the swipe style controls. It'd be great if these options, such as done and delete, were simple buttons outside of the swipe control. Again, this is a minor issue and really only worth half a star in my mind. Keep up the good work!
It does what I need I to do in typical Pomodoro method. I enjoy using it on my iPad because I like to dedicate the iPad to the time while I work on the computer. I like the buzzer that I always hear because it gets your attention. What I am disappointed in is its lack of ability to disregard tasks and target Pomodoros and just keep it running until I stop it and not care about keeping track of the Pomodoros I did. All things considered, a great, simple, Pomodoro timer that is designed efficiently and provides advanced Pomodoro functions.
I use this to track my study time. 25m on, 5m breaks. I THINK I’m doing more than I actually am. Also use this to focus on giving undivided attention to work tasks. It’s not looking at a long list of to do’s and thinking how long will this take, it’s the opposite effect. How many thugs can I do well in a focused session? The tracking is a big eye opener. That’s where you see how much time has gone by and how much or little you have accomplished.
I love this app and it helps me control my life so much better. My productivity increases and I feel more motivated to just keep working instead of checking social media because I feel guilty if I have to pause the timer. This is motivation I haven’t had with just my phone timer. One thing I would like added is if you could customize the amount of time for an interval in each separate task. For example, one task might have one hour intervals while another task may have half hour intervals.
Pomodoro method was something I heard on social medial by a motivational speaker, 5 years ago I learned about it and thought to myself to try it, this app makes easier for me to use efficiently, I have used throughout high school and still using it in college, this app is actually very effective, you should give it a shout, you may actually benefit from it like I did. Best of luck to every hardworking student & every developer of this app
I think that this app is awesome because first of all, you don't need to pay in order to do something in it. You only need to pay if you want to have extra little gadgets but you don't need to. It helps me stay focused all the time and I get my homework done faster and in a more efficient way without getting burn outs. It super easy to customize the time for your break and work time!
I’ve used this app for years. It is hugely helpful! Helpful for motivating me to do things I don’t want to (only 25 minutes of it!) And helpful for things I don’t want to stop (how long have you been doing that!) I especially share this with students around time management to give them an internal sense of time (reading for 25 minutes a day with a 5 minute celebration is good for everyone). That’s a lot from one small app.
I have the paid subscription, and the tool itself is great for pomodoro workers. HOWEVER, you’d think a paid subscription would give you seamless cross device synchronization, and that’s not the case, knowing it lags a bunch. I could start on one device, and the other one won’t catch it unless I am in the app, even if open and functioning within the used apps of the device, which is a huge disadvantage.
I’ve used plenty of time management apps and this one is the best one I’ve used so far. Other apps tend to limit it’s use if you didn’t buy the premium but this app works wonders even without buying premium, which is plus for a frugal student like me haha. I love how it shows stats of how many 25 minute intervals I’ve done for certain tasks. 10/10 would recommend to everyone who wants to be focused!
I love the app overall, but if my iPhone is on silent, the end work/end break notifications don’t sound—even if the in-app volume is up. This makes it hard to use the app at all; I work in an office and don’t want all my phone notifications going off while I work, causing not only myself but my coworkers to get distracted. I wouldn’t mind the occasional short timer going off, but it’s all or nothing. I am disappointed because I love the premise of this app but it’s just not practical with the sound issues.
Before using this app, I was constantly watching my phone. I was procrastinating a lot, and I wasn’t able to get all my tasks done with all these distractions. Now, I feel a lot more focused and satisfied that I was able to get my work done. I mean, it’s in the name, “Be Focused”, so I knew I had to download it. Downloading this app was definitely the right choice.
Not much more, nothing less. The advertisements in the free version are not really obtrusive, which in my opinion is great. You just have to understand that this application on its own is not intended to help form habits. This is only a tool. Once you get that, it is pretty handy. One thing I didn’t like is that you need to keep your phone unlocked to get a sound notification when your timer ends. I understand that there are cases when this is preferable, but it would have been useful to have the option to override this behavior. There does not seem to be any option for this in the app itself, and all notifications and background app refresh in my phone’s settings are turned on for this particular app.
It’s been the thing I’ve needed to break my day into manageable chunks. The 25 minutes speed by with a reward. I’ve never been rewarded for working before. I’ve accomplished more in 1 week with this app than almost 1 month before. I like the “pause” option. It keeps me time accountable while allowing me to take important calls.
I really like this app! It’s useful, and is easy to use. I had an issue with something, so I emailed customer service. They responded right away, and were really nice about it. The only thing that I don’t like is the fact that you have to pay for some features, but I suppose that the company needs some way to get money, right? Anyways, this is a good app, I definitely would recommend!
Great design and options, but notifications sounds do not work
This app has great design. The tasks features and custom options are useful. However a key component of a timing app such as this is to alert you when your work time and break times are finished and it fails to do that. The notification will pop-up sometimes, but the sound never comes on. I’ve tested this at various time intervals and made sure the volume was at max and it doesn’t work. The sound alert is central to apps like this and it’s unreliable. The Mac app doesn’t seem to have this problem.
This app has helped finally find a flow that works for my work projects. I work from home, primarily, and this has helped me stay focused. I do a 25-minute work session with a 5-minute “reset” break. When I started couple this app with another free project management app called “Trello” my work day not only got more productive but became infinitely more organized. Thank you for this product!!!!!!!! -Ryan
This has been super simple but the best tool for me to stay focused and set goals and benchmarks through my day. Love it. Use it every day. My only issue is the timer doesn't always sound at the end of the interval so I have to look at my phone to reset which is what I'm trying to avoid. I keep my phone on not disturb and silent while I'm working. Guess you can't have it both ways.
I tend to struggle with focusing and end up distracting myself, but my friend introduced me to this app and it's helped me. Generally 99% of the time, seeing how many tomatoes I can get is a good boost to me feeling productive, thus helping me continue to study. The one thing is it takes a while to get a "long break" which is set back. But, still am somewhat new to the app and maybe in the settings you can change the breaks.
I didn’t realize how much time I was wasted looking at my phone. With this tool, it allows me to quantify my discipline. I focus when needed then goof around when allowed. I must say, I’m more productive. I also think it’s worth the 5 bucks to support the developers. I like this app and hope they continue to maintain it on both iPhone and Mac.
I use this app on my computer and phone, though mostly on my computer. It’s simple, easy to use and sleek. I like the list feature and the stats. I use the free version but definitely going to upgrade at some point. It has been such a quality tool in keeping me on track with studying and working without distractions.
It really does something to your approach to studying when you know you only have to work really really hard for short intervals and taking a short break. It makes you want to be more productive in that short time and it makes you appreciate the value of a break without allowing you to become distracted and break too long. I love having the ticker on.
Really nice app except for one significant flaw: end-of-timer notification on my Apple Watch is unreliable. I want to say that the vibration alert (what Apple calls haptics) starts working as expected after the 3rd or 4th interval, or pomodoro, but I haven’t spent enough time verifying this is consistently true. All I know is that the several days I’ve tried this app the timer expires without an alert on my watch, at least for the first handle of intervals, which defeats the point of using a timer. Will definitely give 5 stars if this issue is resolved.
Staying on task seems is a real challenge for our screen-bound generation. The Be Focused lets you get things done by breaking up individual tasks among discrete intervals, separated by short breaks. It’s a surprisingly effective way to retain motivation and focus. Create tasks, configure breaks and track your progress throughout the day, week or custom period. Key features: - Start, pause, or skip intervals - Auto-start the next timer (option) - Customize the timer settings to maximize productivity: • Work interval duration • Short break duration • Long break duration • Number of intervals between long breaks • Target number of intervals per day - Manage your tasks - Specify different timer settings for different tasks - Add notes and due dates to tasks - Estimate the number of intervals required to complete a task and track the estimation error - View and manage completed intervals - Customize reports for fast and easy goal tracking - Ability to paste a task list from other apps - Optional chronometer ticking sound - Customizable frequency of the chronometer sound - Wide range of alarm sounds - Ability to adjust alarm and chronometer volumes - Alarms sound even if the app is in the background - Interactive notifications - Live activities for Lock Screen and Dynamic Island - Widgets for Lock Screen and Home Screen - Apple Watch support - One universal app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch - Mac version is also available Pro version: - Sync data between iPhone, iPad and Mac * - Use tags and filters to keep focussed - Export data to a CSV file - Auto backup your account data daily - Integrate with Focus Matrix to manage tasks using urgent/important principle ** - Remove banners and ads * Sync with Mac requires Be Focused Pro for macOS, sold separately. ** Integration with Focus Matrix requires the Pro version of Focus Matrix, sold separately.
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