Way back when, back in the early days of the blogosphere, long before WordPress was a thing, Mac was born on a goose-neck iMac, running Mac OS X Panther Server. Our mission then is our mission now, unchanged since 2004.
As a group of Apple following, Mac loving writers and wannabes, we have opinions and perspectives all all things Cupertino, plus we enjoy finding and reviewing various and sundry applications you won’t necessarily read about elsewhere (knowing there is a measure of support to family, friends, and co-workers that comes with each recommendation). Well, here’s another one.
Avoid Distractions
We live in a very complex age. Along with all the technologically advanced gadgets come the inevitable wave of distractions. Humans can only handle so many hardware devices and manage so many Facebook friends. Yes, all across the interwebs and the misinformation superhighway you’ll find a glut of distractions. Here’s how to keep them limited.
Enter FindFocus, a Mac and Windows app that helps you to focus on what’s important. As is the case with all such focus apps– from Reminders and Notes, to Pomodoro and Getting Things Done– it only works if you are disciplined enough to let it.
Your know the story. Time is wasted every time you switch gears and change to another task. Multitasking is a myth. What’s required is willpower and discipline. Both of which are free. Neither of which is easy. So, you need something to help out.
FindFocus uses a few buzzword techniques like Delay Discounter which causes your brain to prefer immediate gratification vs. future rewards. So, we put important things off and focus on trivial items that can be gratified now.
There’s also the Commitment Enhancer, a technique that helps you to make rational choices vs. emotional choices. Also built into FindFocus is a Pomodoro Timer. Why? The technique works to help you focus on specific actions that make you productive. Also stuffed into the app are Automated Breaks, Break Reminders and Enforcer and Postponement. It can even block websites you visit (those that have little to do with productivity, but waste lots of time).
Everything I see in FindFocus tells me you can become more efficient and productive if and when you follow and use all the functions.
Last year my mother went on a diet. Diets and diet fads and foods come and go, but this particularly diet worked where dozens of others did not. Why? The diet had a price tag of $1,800. The psychology behind it should be obvious. No on wants to waste that much money, my mom included, so she stuck to the diet. Discipline, right?
OK, FindFocus does not cost $1,800. But it has a free 14-day trial so you can see exactly how it works and put it to use. Discipline is still required. This is not a cheap Mac App Store app, but a tool that is priced to help you work better because it’s serious. The methodologies it employs are time honored and work. The price tag is cheap. But there is a price tag.
