Hi, I am Deffrin.
I designed Focus Board to help people stay focused when they sit at a computer for long periods of time, especially people who have ADHD or ADHD traits and find it difficult to focus at work.
Focus Board is a Pomodoro timer plus a deep work leaderboard for a team.
Let me tell you the reason behind Focus Board
I worked as a software developer for nearly 12 years. When I started my career, I was good at completing tasks quickly compared to the time given to me.
Since I knew that I can complete a task quickly, as days went, I started to procastinate more.
It became a habit.
Later in my career, this pattern repeated. Not having coding or logical skills was not the problem that I faced. But the problem was using my time in the best way.
I don't know exactly what the problem was. But I think it was a mix of different problems.
A combination of depression + procrastination + attention problems. This ended up in average results.
Few of the side effects were:
- Not able to predict the time needed to complete a task.
- Not able to feel the time I wasted.
- Difficult to get into flow state.
Timer
When I worked at Webandcrafts, we used software called Hubstaff for time and activity tracking. It tracked activity, took random screenshots, and made them visible to HR.
With the help of a timer, I worked more, and I actually spent more time on work than required. I paused the timer whenever I left my desk.
Working like that had both pros and cons.
After I left Webandcrafts, I tried different time-tracking tools. I didn't stick to one.
I got interested in the simplicity of a 25-minute Pomodoro timer.
I used a 25-minute timer when I needed to do focused work. Mostly, I used my phone's timer.
Then I discovered PomoFocus, a similar Pomodoro timer app. One day I saw that PomoFocus has a global leaderboard. That leaderboard lists the people with the most focused time at the top.
That gave me the idea to create a private leaderboard for an internal team in a company, or for a closed community of people, to share deep work metrics. This helps like-minded people who use such tools stay accountable together.
Focus Board is here to help people like me work better.
It is also here to help people with ADHD feel time moving while working alone at a computer for a long time.
Sometimes, people may not know they can perform better when they use a tool like this.
What is Focus Board
As I said already, Focus Board is an app to help you do deep work.
Your entire team, or only a few people in your team, can use Focus Board.
Every Focus Board team has a team leaderboard. Team members can see who has the most deep work hours on the team.
Focus Board can play a tick-tick heartbeat sound (which you can turn off), and it plays an alarm when a deep work timer finishes.
Focus Board comes with background sounds too.
Focus Board has background sounds of forest, river, rain, piano and film background scores to listen to while you focus on a task.
Simple Steps to Focus
Here are a few simple steps to help you stay focused.
Start with a plan. Before you begin, break your work into small tasks.
Steps
- Write down the task you want to work on.
- Start a 25-minute timer.
- When the timer finishes, either take a break or continue the work.
- Optional: Play a background sound or music while you work.
While you use Focus Board
- Switch tasks anytime. You can switch to another task while you work on a task. The timer will continue for the remaining time.
- Mini timer. On every Focus Board page, you can see a mini timer that shows the remaining time and the time you've worked.
- Stay motivated together. See who has focused the most by looking at the team leaderboard.
- See who's around. You can also see who is online on your team.
My goal
My goal is to help at least one person focus better every day and grow in their career. I want companies to use deep work tools to improve team productivity, give each person insights to improve their work, and suggest the tools and habits they need to excel at focus and in their careers.
Why some people need tools like this
Some people lose focus easily. Because of ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), some people can't focus on tasks for a long time. Some, like me, find it very difficult to get into a flow state. Some perform better when their deep work is measured consistently.
Researchers followed 492 office workers in Germany for a day and asked them to log every interruption at work. The more often people were interrupted, the heavier the day felt. When the task was harder, interruptions made things even worse.
To fix this, we need to follow a system every day. A timer is part of such a system. Some people use music to get into flow. Sharing deep work metrics with like-minded people can also help you stay accountable. But I don't know how many people really think like me.
Are you stuck now?
If you are stuck now, this is what you can do to find focus:
- Meditate for 5 minutes.
- Take deep breaths.
- Open a notebook and simply write exactly what is on your mind right now. Then write what you are going to do, as very small steps. (Interstitial Journaling)
Read what you can do to get your focus back.
Focus & ADHD
Some people find it very difficult to stay with one thing. It is not a character flaw. It is the way ADHD brains work. Accepting this and building the right systems around it is the best way.
About 3 in 100 adults have ADHD. That figure comes from a review that pulled together five earlier reviews, 57 studies, and more than 21 million adults.
People with ADHD often find it difficult to use the mental skills needed for self-control and getting tasks done, such as:
- Stopping an impulse. Acting, speaking, or deciding quickly without pausing to think about what happens next.
- Staying focused, especially on something boring.
- Holding things in mind while working. This is called working memory.
- Planning ahead.
People with ADHD tend to judge time differently.
Why background sound
The popular answer is that background noise helps you focus. The research says it is different for different people.
Read a study here - a 2024 meta-analysis of white and pink noise in young people. In the groups with ADHD or strong attention problems, noise gave a small but real benefit. In the groups without, noise made performance slightly worse.
And inside the ADHD group, it is again different. A 2024 study of 43 children with an ADHD diagnosis found no effect on average. But the children with more inattentive traits did better with noise, while the children with more hyperactive traits did worse.
So even if Focus Board has background sound, it is only a choice.
What I believe
I do not think software can fix everything.
But I do believe tools can help, to an extent.
In the end, how a person uses a tool matters a lot.
I think a person is more likely to use a timer consistently when a group of people around does the same.
Try Focus Board and tell me if it is helpful or not.
Where these numbers come from
Every study referred above are from Europe PMC and PubMed.
- Ayano G, et al. Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults: Umbrella review of evidence generated across the globe. Psychiatry Research, 2023. PMID 37708807.
- Willcutt EG, et al. Validity of the executive function theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analytic review. Biological Psychiatry, 2005. PMID 15950006.
- Metcalfe KB, Toplak ME. Time-Perception Deficits in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Developmental Neuropsychology, 2024. PMID 38145491.
- Nigg JT, et al. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Do White Noise or Pink Noise Help With Task Performance in Youth With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or With Elevated Attention Problems? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2024. PMID 38428577.
- Söderlund GBW, et al. Sensory white noise in clinical ADHD: Who benefits from noise, and who performs worse? Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2024. PMID 39583636.
- Harkin B, et al. Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 2016. PMID 26479070.
- Sohal M, et al. Efficacy of journaling in the management of mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Family Medicine and Community Health, 2022. PMID 35304431.
- Rick VB, et al. Work interruptions of office workers: The influence of the complexity of primary work tasks on the perception of interruptions. Work, 2024. PMID 37483054.