Focus To-Do: Focus Timer&Tasks

I can’t even remember when I got this app, but it’s been at least 5 years. It’s the only one with the exact functionality I need- tasks+pomodoro, without too many bells and whistles. I wish I could customise the appearance a bit more to suit my own style (colour choices!), and I wish I could archive my history or something (instead of just deleting it all when I want a fresh slate).

Generally a good tool but I need quicker rewards with the seedling…. 4 days and it hasn’t grown above level 1! If I was playing a game I’d have got multiple levels by now and be hooked… just sayin!

Very good !

Recently hyper-focussed on this app having had it for over a year and not used it much. I was overwhelmed by my to do list! I love that it lets you sort tasks into categories but still presents a simple interface (once you do a little dive to know how to use it all) Also that it let’s you estimate the time it might take to do the task, and write notes to yourself so you remember where you were the last time you were doing the task. Executive function is helped (mine, not the app’s) by the sub tasks, each with their own amount of time to take. Helps me realistically plan and break things down but when I go back to the Home Screen, my day seems simple and uncluttered again. There a few things I wish they’d add, but overall the best track of my to do lists and motivation to do them that I’ve found so far (and I’ve been looking). I also like that watering my forest is simple and SLIGHTLY gamey so that keeps me interested but not distracted. Very hard line to walk and I’m super impressed. I’m quite motivated to grow my little plant guy and they don’t make it TOO easy at all! Oooh.

I downloaded this app because I wanted to track how much work I actually get done in a certain amount of time so I could make sure I wasn’t over scheduling. I had used pomodoro apps before but struggled to integrate them into my routine as I tend to hyper focus and ignore them once I’m in my workflow. So this app was going to be used solely for research purposes for a limited amount of time, but I’ve now been using it for seven months with no plans to stop. The interface is easy to understand and looks very nice. I can use the app without interrupting my flow as I choose the alarm noises it makes and it can be used as a widget on my iPad or it shows a little symbol in the toolbar of my Mac. I can also use it on my phone so it’s a full timer in front of me while I work on a different device. I love the continuity between all my devices and the way you can adjust the time increments to suit your personal concentration time. I also love how you can colour code projects, schedule them, and plan how much time you’ll devote to a project in advance. Finally, the way it compiles your historical use into graphs and reports is so incredibly helpful. I am a writer and now instead of guessing how long and project will take in days and giving myself an unrealistic deadline, I can look back and see that it took me X amount of focused work time to write a particular project, and use that data to plan appropriate deadlines moving forward. Basically this has really changed how I work for the better and I’d definitely recommend it. I paid a small subscription to have the continuity across my devices as that was a bonus feature, but I used it solely on my phone for free for about three months with no issues before deciding it was worth the fee.

This app is wonderful, with no hidden fees like other apps where you need to pay for premium to unlock the useful features. It provides a space for me to write down the tasks have planned, allows me to be flexible and change their “due dates”. The app also gives me an alert on how many hours I spent focusing that day that also gives me a push to do more some days and reassures me I was productive on other days.

Used it for my education and personal life, very reliable

After two weeks this app has already made a huge difference to my productivity. One feature I’d love to see (and hence why it’s a 4* review) is the integration of other calendars into the FTD schedule. For example, I have regular scheduled work calls throughout the day, but I don’t want to have to re-enter all of them into the app and start timer etc. I’d love to be able to cross-sync so that I can see, if I’ve had two hours of calls in a day and four hours of focus time, exactly how productive I’ve been on that day.

Great app. Been using for over 1 year now. Only downside is sometimes the subtasks, when changes are made to those, they do not save

This app has helped me prioritise and manage my to do list, but the fact that you cannot prioritise tasks within a priority category is a major restriction. Ie you can prioritise something high/med/low, but within those, you cannot order the tasks - they go in reverse date add order, which is frustrating as hell. I'd also love the ability to turn off the "ding" noise for when you complete a task. This aside, it is actually pretty good, but not being able to accurately order tasks so I can work down a list is a major issue for me.