Most focus tools are designed for the moment you’re already working. We got curious about the hour before: the tidying, the tea-making, the one last check of messages that turns into twenty.
Starting is the hard part.
In early interviews, almost nobody said “I can’t concentrate once I start.” They said “I can’t start.” So our first prototypes weren’t timers at all. They were tiny rituals: write the one thing you’ll do, put the phone face down, press begin.
The timer came later, and when it did, we made it quiet. No ticking, no countdown anxiety, just a ring that slowly fills.
Small steps. Deep focus. Meaningful progress.
On the whiteboard, all summer
Focus is better together.
The surprise of the project was the study room. When people could see that eighteen others were focusing at the same time, sessions got longer and people came back more often. Not because of a leaderboard, but because it felt like sitting in a library.
So Focus w/us lets you work alongside friends, or alongside strangers who are quietly doing the same thing. You can send a wave. That’s it.
What we left out.
No streak shaming. No points. No notifications telling you that you’ve failed. If you take a day off, the app is simply there when you come back.
With care, the Uluwatu team
