You’re looking for something to get your studying spark back. You’re spending way too much time on the fourth floor, too much on coffees, not enough time actually cracking on with the dreaded ‘to-do’ list. And here you have it, my ultimate productive hack with a silly side of magic: Focus Friend.
If you had asked me a year ago how I would be coping with my responsibilities now, I probably would not have guessed the response—that I am attached to a bean. Yes, that’s right, a bean.
Focus Friend, curated by Hank Green of the ‘Vlogbrothers,’ is a free timer app that encourages focus by limiting phone usage. Whether I am reading, flicking through articles, or working on assignments, Focus Friend allows me to ‘lock in’ as I am held accountable by a chill little dude, who is stitching time away in socks.
The app works off of a reward system where your ‘Bean’ will knit while you concentrate on a task. If you lose focus (spend time on your phone), your Bean will drop its stitches, and look very very sad. However if you stay focused, your Bean’s completed socks turn into reward points, tradable for room decorations. The standard use of the app allows you to save up for an assortment of colourful items such as a rug, window, desk setup, cabinets, and more; however, you can even save up your socks (who knew they’d have such monetary value?) to unlock the living room, which has lots more delightful elements to explore. If you’re someone who spends too much time jazzing and tidying up their room like me, you can do so here in this virtual and cosy online space, and better yet, have the feeling that you are doing good for someone (or some bean) else.
If watching a bean drop its stitches isn’t enough to get you to focus, there is also the aspect that you have the opportunity to name your focus friend—which generates a sense of attachment. My Bean is currently called ‘Vitasoy’ after the nostalgic drink that I grew up with, though it was previously also lovingly named ‘Mr. Beanius’. For further inspiration, my boyfriend’s Bean is called ‘Labubu’, and I have lovingly suggested to deputy Katie (last name Bean) to acquire a little focus friend of her own. So the possibilities are endless, and perhaps having a lovable and digital bean buddy is the key to unlocking new ways to ‘lock in’.
Image provided by Mattie Thomas for The Student