Please don’t ask me to hand over my nerd card, but I have a confession…
One of the apps guarantees an improvement of IQ score by up to 20 points. Moreover, these studies show us that brain training apps may be really beneficial for your brain: study #1, study #2, and study #3. And in general, there are three types of people who will reap benefits from brain training app: People who want to join a high IQ society. The Productivity App That FORCES You to Focus! No cheats or workarounds. FocusMe is a fully-customizable tool that “walls off” online temptation to instantly increase personal efficiency and take countless hours of your life back Block, limit, or ration use of time-sucking websites & apps. Headspace 2.0: A meditation tool to improve your stress, worry, lack of focus, relationship problems, addictions and more. The promise: use this app for 10 minutes a day, and your brain will literally change, reshaping itself to become more focused, creative, less anxious, and generally happier. We can get behind that. This can focus your audience's attention to the area of interest. On-Screen Annotation Pen - when you choose this tool, you can use your mouse pointer annotate any part of the screen with customized color and pen width. Screen Magnifier - when you choose this tool, you can show your audience details of any part on the screen.
I didn’t update my iMac to the latest version of macOS until just a few weeks ago. Tunepat spotify converter download.
Honestly, I wasn’t motivated to upgrade because I was doing other stuff. I didn’t want to take an hour out of my work day to upgrade, nor did I want to take an hour out of my evening or weekend.
And, as if that weren’t enough…
I’ve also made some significant changes to a few of the most important software tools I use on a regular basis.
For example: after almost a decade (!) of using OmniFocus, I’m now using Todoist as my task-management app. (I’m not yet sold on Todoist, since it’s only been about two months, but so far I’m liking it.)
It dawned on me recently that I’ve really become set in my ways as it relates to the tools I use for getting the job done. I’ve found a rhythm of work and a set of tools and apps which I can use without friction.
As a result, I can’t remember the last time I felt held back by my workflows or tools. The only thing holding me back is my ability to focus and do interesting work. As such, all that’s left for me to do is make sure I have long hours of uninterrupted time, and then hope I can do something worthwhile during that time.
This is the complete opposite mindset compared to the Pursuit of the Latest and Greatest.
While I’m all for using the best tool for the job, finding the best tool should be secondary to actually using the tools you already have.
A friend of mine recently asked me what bookkeeping software I use to run my business…
She said that she currently has a spreadsheet to manage her budget, but she is always forgetting to reference it. And so she wants to find something better.
My reply was that getting a “better” tool will not fundamentally change her workflow habits. If she forgets to reference her spreadsheet budget, how will a new type of budgeting tool change that mindset and routine?
Of course, this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule (sometimes a workflow is broken because the tool you’re using is so cumbersome you avoid it). But the point is that a new tool is not always the answer to a broken mindset and routine.
The folks at AsianEfficiency have what they call the 3 Times Rule: “If something bothers you 3 times, find and implement a permanent solution for it.”
The aim is to use what works, and use the crap out of it. Run that tool for all you can. Upgrade when you have to, or when there are significant gains to be had. (Though, I will also confess that when the next iPhone comes out, I’ll be upgrading on launch day…)
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In light of all this, I was recently at my desk, and I leaned back in my chair and thought for a moment about the handful of apps I use on a regular basis to get the job done.
I figured that there is surely an app or two here that you could get some value from if you were to incorporate it into your own workflow.
Here are 10 apps I use on a regular basis to stay focused.
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Ahh, the freedom of freelancing. You set your own hours. You work on your own terms — within the scope of client deadlines and expectations, of course. You…
…You…
…Oops. Sorry — just had to check out the latest Grumpy Cat meme on Facebook. And sneak a peek at my email. Which actually reminds me, I haven’t updated my LinkedIn profile in a while…
Sound familiar?
While the Internet and all its glorious tools can make a freelancer’s work easier, it also provides so very many ways in which to avoid your work altogether and get lost in an abyss of never-ending stuff: some of it quasi-work-related (hey, LinkedIn’s a networking tool!), some of it just an excuse to procrastinate.
Luckily, you can get technology back on your side with a slew of super helpful concentration apps that help you focus, block out distractions and get to work. Here are some of the top ones: (Click to tweet this list)
1. Anti-Social
If you’re always lured from your projects by the siren call of Facebook and Twitter, this app’s for you. Anti-Social eliminates the temptation to update your status by blocking these sites altogether.
https://fishingever140.weebly.com/applications-install-macos-high-sierraapp-jamf.html. You can choose timed blocks from 15 minutes up to eight hours (if you’re feeling really determined), and the app “keeps you honest” by cleverly lacking a way to turn it off. That’s right — if you feel the itch and try to cheat, the only way to sneak around a timed block is by rebooting your computer altogether.
Anti-Social is made to block over 30 social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Hulu and Reddit. You can also add any other sites that tend to pull you away from your work. Are you a secret Amazon shopper? A fantasy football roster-checker? Add these sites to your blocked list to have them blocked as well.
Operating System: Mac and Windows
Cost: $15 (with a 90-day money-back guarantee)
2. Concentrate
Okay, let’s say that most of the time, Facebook and Twitter are a horrible distraction for you. But when you’re doing social media management for your blog, they’re kind of necessary. Concentrate allows you to select which applications and sites are allowed and which are off-limits based on the task you’re doing. It even goes the extra mile by opening up necessary applications for you.
Let’s say that when you write, you need to access Word, your favorite online thesaurus site (we all use them in a pinch), and Pandora for a little background music. So, when you launch your “writing” action (for whatever time limit you allocate), Concentrate will open a Word doc for you (either a new one or one you’ve already saved), open up your thesaurus site and launch Pandora for you. It can also block out everything else, set your chat status to “away” and give you special messages and alerts to keep you on task.
Operating System: Mac
Cost: 60-day free trial, then $29 (with money-back guarantee)
Mac App For Focusing Mode3. Focus Booster
This app is specifically based on the pomodoro technique, a time management system that breaks tasks down into timed blocks separated by short breaks. Since its creation in the ‘80s, the technique has been done most often with kitchen timers; Focus Booster is its digital extension.
Facebook App For Mac
According to the rules of the technique, the app breaks your tasks down into 25-minute sessions (“pomodoros”), each followed by a five-minute break. After four pomodoros, you take a longer, 15- to 20-minute break.
This technique aims to keep your mind refreshed and agile as you work. If you’re the type who would plug away for two straight hours until your eyes start to blur, this more regimented system could help provide you with a little more structure and rest time.
Systems: Mac and Windows. An online version is also available if you work across multiple computers or don’t want to download an app.
Cost: Free (for now). They‘re currently crowdfunding on Pozible to keep the app free as they add new features.
4. FocusWriter
Eliminate all the sidebars and notifications that tug at the periphery of your vision and really immerse yourself in your writing with this app, which turns your computer screen into the simplest, most distraction-free blank page possible.
You can choose various themes, from a totally gray screen with black writing, to a screen over a soothing background image, to a retro green-type-on-black look. Everything else, including the app’s own user interface, which you can access by mousing over the edge of the screen, is whisked out of sight and out of mind.
Features include timers and alarms, daily goals and (my personal favorite) genuine typewriter sound effects, if that helps get your inspiration flowing.
Systems: Mac, Windows and Linux
Cost: Free (with the option to donate if you so choose)
5. SelfControlMac App Focus
If you lack it yourself, SelfControl has it for you. Unlike other apps, this one will not allow you to get out of your predetermined timed sessions — not even by rebooting your computer or deleting the application itself. If hardcore discipline is called for, this is about as strict as it gets.
Systems: Mac, Windows and Linux
Cost: Free (with option to donate)
6. StayFocused
Aimed at websites only, but highly customizable within that area, StayFocused limits the amount of time you can spend on certain sites. You decide how many minutes per day you’re allowed to access your guilty pleasure sites, and once you’ve hit your limit, the site is blocked for the rest of the day.
Not only can you block websites, you can also block subdomains, specific pages on certain sites, distracting in-page content like videos and images or the entire Internet itself. Better yet? If you try sneaking back on (you know, just to make sure the app is working), you’ll be guilt-tripped by a message asking, “Shouldn’t you be working?”
System: Google Chrome extension
Cost: Free (with option to donate)
7. Time Out and 8. SmartBreak
For those on the opposite side of the focus spectrum — workaholics who work too much for too long — these apps will remind you to take a break once in awhile.
Time Out reminds you by gently dimming the screen and showing you a message. You can take normal breaks (10 minutes after 50 minutes of work) or micro breaks (short pauses of 10 seconds every 10 minutes if you’re really doing something stressful). Once the break is over, your screen fades back in, and you can get back to work.
Mac App For Focusing Techniques
SmartBreak is aimed more at the ergonomic benefits of break-taking. Rather than using set break periods, it actually monitors the amount of work you’re doing (are you typing away like a fiend, or just pecking?) and reminds you to take a break based on when it thinks you need it. While this could get disruptive if you’re just looking to take breaks now and then, it’s great if you suffer from the repetitive stress injuries, back and neck pain, and eye strain that come from long hours in front of a computer.
Systems: Mac (Time Out); Windows (SmartBreak)
Cost: Free (Time Out) (with option to donate) ; $19.95 (SmartBreak) ($5 discount if you share or tweet about the app)
![]() 9. Sound Curtain and 10. White Noise
Download f.lux for mac. These are both mobile apps, but the idea behind them is a great one. While other apps focus on blocking out visual distractions and computer applications that can drain your focus, these smartphone apps help block out the distractions of a noisy work environment. It’s best if you have a headset to really get the full effect.
Sound Curtain masks noise with white noise and harmonic sounds — and if you have a mic on your headset, it will automatically adjust its volume, pitch and tone according to the level of noise around you.
White Noise mimics the sound of an untuned TV from back in the day when we still had static channels — not so jarringly that it’s a distraction in itself, but more as a means of absorbing ambient noise and “insulating” your mind.
Systems: iPhone (Sound Curtain); Android (White Noise)
Cost: $4.99 (Sound Curtain); Free (White Noise)
Did we miss any good ones? Share your favorites in the comments!
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