Be Focused Pro - Focus Timer App Reviews

I have been using Pomodoro Time for 2 weeks now. What a great handy little tool to have in one’s toolbox to stay organized. I use it daily. Very handy to have it on iMac, iPad and iPhone. Sync works very well too.

This apps is very useful, simple, and effective, sync with iPhone corresponding app is a great feature too ! Furthermore there is no additional fee like monthly subscription plan etc. But I found an annoying bug (behaviour ?) while switching from multihead mode (macbook pro linked to external display) to main LCD screen (e.g. leaving my desk to take the train ), the pomodoro window is “lost”, one can see it in Mission Control, but one can not bring it back to main screen. The only solution I found is to kill Pomodoro with pkill or from Activity Monitor and relaunch it but it is quite a dirty way , isn’t it ? Being able to pause a task/pomodoro to start another (e.g. in case of urgent task) would be a great feature for next versions as for now if you switch the current task you reset chronometer.

I like the design a lot, very simple and intuitive. It would be good if we could resize the windows for the reports and the menu bar items. I find that sometimes there is not enough space to describe the task properly. Also, sometimes the sync with the iOS app is not working 100%, but that might be due to network conditions.

“You cannot conquer time”, says W. H. Auden in one of his early poems. But you can be on friendlier terms with it, using the Pomodoro technique. The best thing about this app is that it allows you to sync between devices using iCloud.

Great tool! Although, it would be great if we can have the following options: * Have the option to put the system in Do Not Disturb mode during pomodoros. * Option to Auto start breaks/pomodoros unless I break the circle.

The tool allows us organize the activities and also analyse the productivity based on the reports. Very helpful!

I dont really care much about the Pomodoro Technique, but this timer is good for just tracking how much time you spend in different work activities on your computer. As it stops the timer every 25 min, you reduce the impact of leaving the computer and forgetting to stop the timer. The free version is good enough, but being able to synchronize the counters between computers is very handy and then, after some weeks of continuous use, I felt Denys deserved that I bought the Pro version. :-) Good work man!

After the update, the app is worse. Today, for example, I lost 4 hours of pomodoros. Just gone… this is ruining my statistics…

One think that could be improved is: - When I finish a task I can either skip the current pomodoro (losing it) or just take a long break… I don’t know how to solve this problem, but something would be nice.

Great looking tool with useful features. But the very basic things are not working: start a pomodoro and get notified when it is finished. I have the tool on OSX and iOS. During a pause I take my IPhone with me so I can see when my break is finished. But if I open another app and then IPhone sleeps, I won’t get noticed! Also, starting a pomodoro at either IPhone or Mac is sometimes reset by syncing in the wrong direction. To be sure it starts, I have to start it on both devices.

Does what is says, but at times mine skips the breaks, in turn defeating the point of having a break system. Still, very uselful!

I LOVE this. Helps you to keep track of how long you take studying certain sections and really helps you stay efficient and focused

I really enjoy the feature set compared to other pomodoro timers. However, I had to stop using this application as it was a significant power drain on my MacBook Pro. For a small menu bar app, it often was at the top of the list of “Apps Using Significant Energy”. If they fixed this I would revise my review to 4 or 5 stars.

I loved the freeware version and took a shot at the paid platform: it’s worth the five bucks. Here’s why: a former TV investigative journalist, I’m now a working screenwriter/playwright who’s also a media consultant (I’m a Gemini’s Gemini) so focusing utterly on a sequence of work while not losing the thread when I shift gears is a huge timesaver. The Pro version means I can track all this and have a visual feedback (visual works best for me) that I’m progressing and keeping the rhythm. I’ve also found that working in 25 minute bursts that I carefully track meshes beautifully with my meditation practice: max flow-state, if you will. It suits my own rhythms, somehow. Hope this helps...

Now with 1.1 out, I was hoping for more improvements, but they have not yet appeared. One big issue is the Mac/iOS syncing, it is problematic a lot of the time. As well, the notifications work in a counterintuitive manner, not clearing nor taking you to the app when clicked. After high hopes from v1.0, I am starting to think that my expectations were a bit too high, and that coupled with prices drops makes me wonder about the future of this app. Don’t let me down, this has a lot of potential and I want this app to be successful….there’s nothing else close in functionality. ========================================= After looking around for a cross-platform solution to Pomodoro Technique time tracking, and looking at cheaper and free options, I came across this fairly new app. Along with it’s iOS companion app, which will run solo as well, they make a good set. They will sync the timer between the two devices, via their own servers, not CloudKit. This last point is a positive for me as I use devices logged in to different iCloud accounts for testing purposes. They appear pretty receptive to feature requests and as they are still at 1.0 it will quickly be obvious if they are keen to integrate new functionality. I look forward to adding another review once 1.1 is out.

You almost get addicted to pomodoros :) Real great for people that study or work on long projects and need to manage their time.

The reason I upgraded to the pro version was to sync it with my iPhone app (also a pro version), but it doesn’t work. There is no way to sync from the desktop to the iPhone. Not able to customize the alarm sound is a another minus. I also discover that the notification is quite buggy, sometimes it would have one notification, sometimes several at the same time. Should reduce the price until these problems are fixed.

This is a fabulous application!!! The syncronization between desktop (OSX) and phone (IOS) versions is amazing !!! Start a task on your phone and the desktop picks it up automatically, Update on the desktop and the phone get the update live… The only item I would ask for in a future version is a simple mechanism to import task names from a txt file or popular GTD app like OmniFocus or the Apple Reminders app. Robert

This is the perfect solution to studying and staying on task. I like the clock ticking on my desk which is a constant reminder if I start to slack off that its time to get back to work.

I really like the concept of this app in that I think it can be very helpful to keep focused on a task until the timer runs out. You break work into a time chunk that you define (default is 25 minutes, and it’s simple to change the default). I’ve got what I’d call a P1 problem right now though - when I click the cogwheel and select ‘reports’, the app seems to lock up. I’m running on a MacBook Pro 15 inch with El Capitan (10.11.1).