FocusmateReviews of focusmate.com

Back in 2020, a close friend told me about work gyms – sites where you randomly match with an accountability buddy online to get work done. Of the ones I looked into, I selected Focusmate, frankly, because of the offer of "three free sessions per week." Nothing to lose by trying it out. The site uses a browser-based calendar through which you select timeslots to book your session with another user. Each session uses video, mic, and chat. But in each session you basically greet your session buddy, declare what you'll work on, and then you each get to your tasks, with you and the other person's video on. Co-working with video ("body doubling") turned out to be a powerful tool for my productivity. So I upgraded to the paid subscription of what was then just USD $5 per month for unlimited sessions. Focusmate has rules to ensure members' safety. When I wrote my first review, I had completed over 60 sessions and highly recommended it. Now I am over 1,200 session in, and it is still my absolute favorite productivity tool, also for the fantastic and diverse community of users and the respect for that diversity. The only (continued!) complaint I have is the limited payment options for international users. They really need to sort that out.

My productivity has significantly increased since finding FocusMate. I was looking for a 'virtual coworking' type of arrangement that made it simple and convenient to book coworking sessions, but also holds me accountable to showing up to do my work. Just completed my 100th session with FocusMate and I'm loving it!

I initially doubted the power of Focusmate, as there are too many alternatives. However, the alternatives do not work for me. Using Forest app, a digital workplace with a lot of people just does not motivate me and I don't feel the reward. Focusmate makes me so goal-oriented by committing to only one goal per session. It's so helpful with the distraction nature, and also helps me with the danger of scope creep. Moreover, surprisingly, I feel so happy and looking forward to working as I can get to know people around the world. The whole Focusmate community culture is very supportive, this makes me not willing to try other alternative platforms. I tend to ask people with more sessions, " what's your suggestion for using Focusmate after using it so many times?" This turns out to be a great interaction topic! Last, it is helpful with my procrastination. When I just feel not right and not motivated, I just choose a session named " kickoff", the process of starting to plan the work is so helpful. I am grateful for you guys to make this platform working! However, I know Focusmate is not for everyone and the initial trial is hard as you gotta meet strangers, that's stress for some people. As focusmate grows, I believe the trust culture in community is what it matters!

Focusmate has absolutely changed my life. I was struggling so much with "getting started" anxiety while wfh before finding focusmate. Now with focusmate, I can set a time to begin. Its crazy how well this works. Being able to share my screen and just feel like I am not alone while working with strangers all over the world has allowed me to do what I couldn't do on my own. I am so glad I found this product

Great productivity tool 👍👍

This is just a big thank you for developing Focusmate! I’m a software developer with ADHD and I’ve been really struggling recently to focus on anything. I tried Focusmate today and I genuinely feel like I’ve unlocked my ability to focus again.

Today I had an important deadline to work on, so used Focusmate. I booked a session. No show. They moved me to another session 2 minutes later. Had a good session. Booked another session. Some guy just staring at the screen. I said hello, just staring. I tried to get his attention. Just staring, saying nothing. I left the session and had to wait a further 15 minutes for the next session. No Show. Then I booked another session. Person turned up late. Couldn't get her camera on for 5 minutes. Then interupted my session to tell me what she was going to do. I spent more time messing about that actually being productive. Spoke with customer service who sent me a cut and paste job - 500 word essay. No time to read that. To be fair they gave me a refund. Looking for alternatives where others actually show up.

I have used Focusmate on and off over the last 18 months and have generally found it both easy to use and most people pleasant.