When you’re trying to focus, the last thing you want is to get distracted by your phone. Let’s face it: most of us spend a lot of time looking at our screens, and it can be hard to keep them from stealing our attention away from whatever we should be doing. But there are some apps that help you focus, and they’re a valuable tool in your arsenal against distractions. We’ve compiled a list of the best ones for you here so you can get back to work!
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Focusing
- StayFocusd
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The StayFocusd online app is available for Chrome users and can be installed as a Chrome extension. When you do, you will select the websites that are your biggest time wasters and set the amount of time you are allowed on these sites during the day. Once you use up your time allotment, those sites will be blocked so you can concentrate on working.
Price: Free
Get the app here!
- Lumosity
If you feel like your attention span is shrinking and that you do not have the memory that you used to, you should consider signing up for online brain games that are designed to help you improve your mental focus. Lumosity is one game that is designed to help you improve your brain function as you play every day and acts like a personal trainer for your brain.
Price: Free for limited access, $15/month for full access
Get the app here!
- Self Control
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This free Chrome extension is a great way to really focus on the task at hand. It 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.
Price: Free
Get the app here!
- Serene
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This macOS app is one of the best apps for focus, as, beyond allowing you to block distracting sites for a certain amount of time, it asks you to set a goal each day. You can also choose to play optional concentration music to help you focus even more.
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This app is really a productivity system and seeks to promote deep work to help you get more done.
Price: $4/month
Get the app here!
- Forest
Forest is an app for focus that is generally used on smartphones, but you 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.
Price: Free
Get the app here!
- 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 this app for focus, 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
Get the app here!
- Cold Turkey
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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!
Price: Free for Basic Plan, $39 Pro plan with unlimited blocking and scheduling
Get the app here!
- Remember the Milk
Image result for remember the milk app
Remember the Milk is a to-do list app for focus that helps you remember what you need to get done and when. The app makes defining new tasks and subtasks easy, allowing you to enter your task’s properties in one line, including due date, priority, repeat, tags, and more. You can choose to receive reminders via email, text, IM, Twitter, and mobile apps, meaning you’ll never overlook another task.
If you often lose focus and forget what you should be working on, Remember the Milk is a great way to get back on the path to productivity.
Price: Free
Get the app here!
- RescueTime
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This app for focus is, at its core, 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.
Price: Free for Lite, $12/month for Premium
Get the app here!
- Noisli
This is one of the best apps for focus if you work at home, but it can also work for those who are in an office environment if you have headphones handy. Noisli allows you to mix different sounds to create a sound environment that helps you stay focused. Whether you like the sound of a thunderstorm or the gentle hum of the forest, Noisli has it.
This is especially useful if your natural environment includes annoying sounds, such as traffic, screaming neighborhood children, or chatty coworkers.
Price: Free for Basic (16 sounds), $10/month (28 sounds, 1 user), $24/month (28 sounds, 2 users)
apps to help you focus and be productive
1. Any.do (IOS & Android)
A cloud-based task management productivity app that is perfect to utilize for collaborative work with list sharing and progress monitoring capabilities. PCMag outlines how users can integrate joint task lists, assign tasks, create subtasks and track each other’s progress. The pro version enables users to collaborate on projects and both versions track progress throughout the day. ($2.99/month, other premium offers)
- Be Focused Pro (IOS)
This productivity app for Macs is a great system to customize your focus sessions and time management. It populates on the apple menu bar next to the bluetooth icon, where you can click the icon, start the timer and name the task. Data syncs across all devices, even live timers, so you will always have accurate and up to date data on your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad seamlessly as outlined by Xwavesoft’s app overview. The format at the top of the screen makes it easy to access & remember, while remaining compact and tucked away from your desktop space/windows. Another useful feature is that you can simultaneously keep track of ongoing tasks that have separate timers with the help of labels and notes, which gives a great overview of daily/weekly progress. ($4.99 on IOS) - Dewo (IOS & Android)
This AI assistant tracks web and desktop activity to better learn the proper circumstance for users to work with focus. Venturebeat highlights that Dewo’s algorithm automatically silences notifications and also predicts which apps are useful. It also includes insights that offer helpful data subsets to track your progress. It improves the way you work and automatically will trigger “do not disturb mode” once it analyzes deep work mode has been reached. (free version) - Due (IOS)
The one place for all your reminders and deadlines to live with an efficient notification system that anticipates recurring tasks and meetings. Lifehack commends the app’s efficient and fast ability to create and postpone reminders or tasks. The features are uncluttered and only shows you details as you need them. This streamlined and accessible interface makes this focus app highly functional in helping users stay focused. ($6.99) - Forest: (IOS & Android)
A focus app that takes the Pomodoro technique and adds an element of gamification to motivate users to stay on top of tasks. You plant a seed when you are ready to work, set the timer, the tree will keep growing until you exit the app and then the tree dies and the timer starts over. Zapier emphasizes the app’s unique and effective way of overcoming phone usage by transforming productivity into lush green forests through their partnership with Trees of the Future, an organization dedicated to planting trees and ending hunger. ($1.99 on IOS, Free version on Android devices with ads)
- Freedom (IOS & Android)
An easy and simplified method to staying focused by literally blocking out distracting apps and excessive notifications. Timeterminator describes how this focus app allows you to block websites, set durations and specific timeframes in order to keep focus in check. It also offers the ability to create custom block lists for your daily routine to ensure you stay on track. You get to decide which websites you block and for how long. This sleek and simple design is accessible and is easy to control from the dashboard with the ability to sync all sessions across all devices. (Free version, Premium $2/month) - Minimalist (IOS)
This to do assistant simplifies the Pomodoro technique with a modern timer. Geekbot highlights their sleek look and accessible functionality. From opening the app, there is a blank white screen where you can swipe down to add to tasks, assign due dates and give tasks priority. Seamless design to allow for peace of mind and productive time management. (Free version, Pro: $0/99/month)
Conclusion
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