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Focusmate — Distraction-free productivity via virtual coworking
Focusmate virtual coworking provides accountability exactly when and how you need it to get things done—live, "in person" from another human being.
Users to work side-by-side, remotely over video, in structured 50 minute sessions.
Let a Focusmate hold your feet to the fire, just like your coworkers might in a real office.
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Anna Filou
I procrastinate so much and this seems like a good solution to force me to get started and not get distracted BUT it's kinda weird. I wanna do it but at the same time I'm like "video call with a stranger where we're mostly silent? Yeah..... Riiiight...." 😅
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@anna_0x It's so much more natural and easy than you would think. Everyone there has a shared focus, goal, mission -- work productively. I've seen people voluntarily doing things like sharing their screen (sometimes with a filter, sometimes without) to further enhance accountability -- that's how comfortable they are working together. Try it once -- or ask Taylor the founder to do a session. There's a great Facebook community to ask more people that use it regularly. What's the harm in trying?
@anna_0x what he said! @bakerjake
It feels scary right up until you start, and then it's like, "oh, why was I scared?"
This is exactly how I felt too, and now I love the experience of working with enthusiastic, caring, supportive (and focused) people around the world.
@bakerjake @taylor_jacobson just finished my first session 😁 was nice but I felt pretty awkward (talking to strangers face to face is pretty much out of my comfort zone)
@bakerjake @anna_0x major kudos 👏 excited to hear more feedback as you use it!
@cindybisv -
gender leans slightly women, which I would guess is due to parenting pushing more women to try remote/freelancing. Age and geographies is insanely diverse. We're in over 100 countries already. US then UK and EU but seeing spikes globally right now. Work functions: still learning. More focused on tasks. Deep work (e.g. writing), test prep, admin work are all huge. But, the diversity is staggering.
Looks good! So is there any initial get-to-know-each-other chit chat? Is the audio on, or is it just video?
@daviswbaer You spend the first 60 seconds greeting one another verbally and sharing what you'll be working on. Video stays on, audio is optional while working. At the end you check in verbally again and reflect on how it went and say thanks!
@taylor_jacobson @daviswbaer It sounds a bit uncomfortable at first, but everyone in the community is so eager to get work done. The quality of people I've paired with has been one of the best parts of the experience. Try it out!
Neat product but I can't help but think that you might be working on the wrong thing if you really need this, especially if it's a side project.
Your side project should be so exciting to you that you can't wait to work on it.
You shouldn't need somebody hovering over you telling you to get back to work.
And if this is for your main job, you might need to find a new job or new position.
Am I alone in thinking this?
Hi @joshuapinter ! Valid question! A few thoughts...
1. Procrastination is a part of life for a huge share of the population, agnostic of motivation levels. This shows up as having trouble getting started, working on easy tasks instead of hard ones, etc. For people who procrastinate, it's really not about how excited or not excited you are. (It's even worse for those with ADHD.)
2. We're incredibly distracted, and not wired to handle the constant stimulation in our environment today. Focusmate helps to kind of suck you into a flow state where you're not easily distracted.
3. Even for those with high focus and motivation, it still improves productivity. You might notice that while many users have ADHD etc., many are actually high performers using Focusmate to achieve more of their life's work.
@joshuapinter I'd disagree. As a user, this is really about quality of life for me. I'm high performing in my life and my career, but procrastination is not a fun way of achieving goals. Focusmate helps me get into the groove and get things done quickly, rather than enduring some of the angst and suffering of my normal "process." It's less about my enjoyment of the work and more about the ease with which I get into flow.
Separately, it's also about optimization --- if you're running a company, what would 1% or 5% or 10% greater productivity from employees be worth to you?
I think that's a huge potential idea....
Focusmate is such a weird product, in a good way. I've tried it before and know a lot of others use it to build social accountability.
Curious how you see the product evolving over the next few years, @taylor_jacobson.
@taylor_jacobson @rrhoover
I love this comment. The people who use it regularly (and there are a ton) love it. It works for some, may not work for others. Give it a try - why not?
@rrhoover thanks!
Our plan is to create an increasingly personalized and supportive Focusmate experience, e.g.
- Customize your tribe: favorite some users, block others
- Match w/ people based on how you like to work, shared interests, what you're working on
- Join groups for specific affinity groups like your company, the PH community, or a writing class you're taking, and work with others in those groups
- Set preferences for session style, e.g. text-only/voice-only/video, longer/shorter
- Join events like "office hours" or facilitated "classes" with a coach to help you plan your day, plan your week, do goal-setting, and many more activities
Hmmm I guess this is good for people who slack at home...?
Other side note is it might create special rendezvous... I mean you get to meet soo many other lonely I mean solitary people.
I guess this system would work if a boss forces employees to use this system as a means to improve productivity or oversight in a way.
@androidlove Honestly -- it works because the productivity boost is addictive. You get hooked on the feeling. I've seen literally zero people abuse over 100s of sessions. People are just motivated and eager to GSD. There are a number of unmatched sessions today at www.focusmate.com -- try it out?
@androidlove It doesn't have to be solitary people. It could be people on it after work or before a normal office job. There are a lot of graduate students as well.
@androidlove thanks for your feedback. Loneliness is actually an epidemic, and I think many people simply don't realize how alone we all are these days, even when we're around other people. One thing I'll say about the "oversight" bit is we really emphasize an opt-in mentality: we encourage people to use Focusmate because you want to crush it, not because you were told to 😄
I like to describe Focusmate as, "Chatroulette for work (without all the nasty bits)."
I've used the product for quite a while and found it to be a great way to fight distraction by holding myself accountable to another person.
I love the product and team and I'm honored they let me invest in the company.
Hi PH, Taylor from Focusmate here.
Working solo can be liberating, but it is also hard. I’ve been working from home for 7 years, and let’s just say it’s been a long and winding journey 🙃
The big change for me happened when I started working with an accountability partner, remotely over video, to ensure I showed up, chose the right thing to work on, and stayed on task.
It may sound weird or extreme, but it worked insanely well.
The problem was, we needed more people!
So, we built Focusmate—a community of solo workers who have committed to holding one another accountable for finishing their most important work.
With Focusmate, you can find an accountability buddy to work with at any time, anywhere, on demand.
We’d love for you to give it a try and share your feedback. Also:
😱 How can we reduce the initial fear or hurdle of trying Focusmate?
❤ Are there specific people/groups you’d like to work with on Focusmate?
Thanks so much!!
@taylor_jacobson Amazing product Taylor -- to your question -- is there any way for colleagues of a start-up to work together? Can you choose who you match with?
@taylor_jacobson I did not know that this was exactly what I was looking for? I've been working alone a lot and the distractions are ENDLESS - I can see why this would work. Signing up now and think of investing at Republic too 😉
One thing I do want to say - don't put logos of publications on your website to then not link to their respective articles/content (if there are any), now they link to your homepage which is a bit silly.
@bramk Thanks so much!! Yeah, sorry about that, it's a known issue. The latest press is over at https://blog.focusmate.com/press (a few linked above too). I'm delighted to have you in the fold as a user, and am honored you're considering investing!
I wish I had Focusmate when I was working by myself on my own startup (that failed so I'm back at the office).
Looks great!
Have you though about adding a real time queue like games have, so you can search for someone instantly?
And yes, I'm looking forward to try it. Seems like a nice motivation to work while not in a coworking or a coffee shop
@dmitry_belyaev Hi Dmitry, can you explain more what that is, in non-game terms? I am not following.
@taylor_jacobson A regular use case for me: I work on side projects when I have time, so usually I can't schedule it beforehand. It would be great if I can just enter my profile and search for a person who is ready to join right now. That definitely requires a large userbase for better results, but may work with smaller audiences as well.
@dmitry_belyaev makes perfect sense, thanks. We're planning to launch this in incremental ways so that you can find someone truly on-demand, like you're saying.
@taylor_jacobson Hope it goes live one day :) Would try Focusmate out next week I hope, looking for the time to work on the side project.
I've just also randomly thought that maybe same thing can be done in the office, even meeting in person and working to increase productivity for couple of hours
Great concept but how are you increasing usability? I'd love to hear your thoughts regarding using Google Hangouts, Zoom or anything else on mute vs Focusmate
@yash Not sure I am getting your question. Can you clarify? Are you asking how we are different than just hopping on Zoom?
If that's your question, 2 things:
1. Pre-existing commitments and structure essentially guarantee that when you have a Focusmate, you will be productive.
2. You spend zero time coordinating / doing anything annoying. It is a seamless, fast, on-demand, single-user experience in every way it can be.
3. As the product evolves, it will become even more personalized and interwoven with your work life and work cadence. Have the partners you want and work most productively with, schedule in ways that are integrated into your existing workflows, etc.
I love Focusmate. I am about to hit 1500 sessions on it in past year. Profiles are private by default so linking will do no good. But message me if you need convincing to try the product or want to see someone who has used Focusmate a ton!
I've used Focusmate in many different ways. Recently, I use it to get a jumpstart or make sure I'm working and accountable on each part of my day. That means almost first thing in the morning. After lunch. And then at night if I'm doing anything at night. I'll do 1-2 sessions in each part usually.
Once in a while I and others will go on Focusmate binges and do like 7-10 sessions in the span of less than half a day. It can do wonders for productivity.
I LOVE Focusmate to help me stay focused throughout the day. Signing up for scheduled coworking sessions that last just a few Pomodoro sessions helps me put a time limit on tasks instead of dragging them out, as I tend to do when I work from home.
so grateful for your support and enthusiasm @thatbberg 🙏
I was one of the earliest users of Focusmate and have been passionately sharing it with friends and colleagues since. It helps you get immediately into the zone of productivity via the incredibly simple solution of having a partner, live and present, working alongside you. Try it once. If you don’t like it, fine. If it helps you, even better. Why not try something that potentially offers (free) massively improved productivity? Kudos to Taylor and team for building this.
Pros:
Works like magic. Bizarrely effective if you use it.
Cons:You have to use it for it to work.
Like many I was initially scared of having random people watch me, but I tried this app and the benefits out weighs that worry. I wasn't even bothered by being watched all I wanted to do was get done with my task. I also like the idea of meeting new people and offering value both ways.
I am doing a 20day product challenge where I write about the #1 product of the day on PH. Today, I wrote about Focusmate. And you guessed right, I used focusmate to stay focused while I was writing this article! Helped me to accomplish it in way lesser time.
Link -> https://medium.com/@nife/product...
@nife @nifeoluyemi so cool! and, great piece, thanks for the feedback!!
Similar to working out with a trainer, the hardest part is showing up – once you're there, you don't waste time and you always work harder than you would have if you were on your own.
Pros:Forget every other accountability habit / hack / app, this one straight up works.
Cons:I'd love to be able to do Pomodoro sprints within Focusmate and set daily / weekly goals for myself.
I stumbled onto Focusmate when I was working on a book project last year and my writing partner went out of town. It's been a huge help! I wouldn't have the manuscript finished if not for Focusmate!
@taylorpearsonme thrilled to hear we've been able to help!
Couldn't help but notice that your website needs >10s to load with a 3.5MB bundle somewhere in between. That's at least for the landing page a no go. ;-)
@kunnendavid Just loaded it in seconds.... Wonder if the issue is a connection thing?
I work mainly solo and from my home office, and can easily stray from my goals when tasks are tedious or challenging (which is many of them!). I can see using Focusmate as a way to make sure I don't avoid the unpleasant stuff!
Pros:I can see this helping me get over the hurdles.
Cons:I plan to try this soon!
Focusmate is the way that the next generation of teams will get stuff done, especially when they're remote!
Pros:Easy and fun to use
Cons:Growing network
I love this service and use it regularly. It's kind of a quirky idea but give it a try at least once then it'll click.
@brianstuckey +1 @brianstuckey -- it just becomes habit and then suddenly you're just magically in the zone.