If you’re having trouble focusing these days, you’re not alone. Maybe you’re dealing with brain fog or having trouble working from home. Maybe you’re juggling a million things. Maybe you deal with a mental health condition that makes it difficult to concentrate, like ADHD, depression, and anxiety. Hell, maybe you’re just easily distracted. Whatever it is, there’s no shame in needing a little help.
Luckily, there are plenty of apps, websites, and extensions to help you focus and get shit done in a variety of ways. Some work by blocking distractions; others work to help you get in the zone. I even consider certain task managers and habit-building apps helpful for improving focus, so I threw a few of those in as well. When it comes to tools like these, it’s worth experimenting to find out what works for you because they’re definitely not one-size-fits-all. Below, find the best focus apps, websites, and extensions to make getting work done a little easier.
1. Forest
Listen, guilt is a pretty great motivator, and Forest requires you to murder a tree if you want to give in to the temptation of a distraction. Or that’s my dramatic take on it. The basic concept is this: You plant a tree and set a timer for how long you want to be productive. As long as you don’t use your phone (or go on certain sites, if you’re using the Chrome extension), your tree continues to grow. But if you use your phone or banned sites before the timer goes off, your tree withers. Over time—through lots of focused productivity sessions—you grow a beautiful, lush forest, and honestly, it’s hard not to get attached.
Use it: $2; iOS and Google Play, or free as a Chrome extension
2. Noisli
Whether you’re typically a background-noise person or not, Noisli is worth a shot. It allows you to mix and match different sounds (like thunderstorms, wind, fire, or fan noise) to create the ideal working environment for you. As I write this, I’m listening to my go-to mix—heavy on the rain, light on the café noises, and just a little bit of static. If you’re not feeling super creative, it also features ready-made mixes you can enjoy without fuss, including one for productivity. You can use it on your desktop or via mobile. For free, you get an hour and a half of streaming a day, three curated playlists, 16 sounds to mix with, and the ability to save up to five favorite combos. You can also upgrade to premium for more sounds, playlists, an advanced timer, and unlimited streaming.
Use it: Free or $10 a month for premium; iOS, Google Play, and desktop
3. Focus Keeper
If you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of productivity tips and hacks, you’ve almost certainly come across the Pomodoro technique (blocking your time into 25 minutes of work with short breaks in between). And if you still haven’t given it a try, I suggest that you do. People continue to recommend it for a reason! Focus Keeper is a timer that utilizes the Pomodoro technique. Its interface is simple and customizable; plus it tracks your productivity so you can track long-term progress and goals.
Use it: Free or $2 for pro; iOS
4. Freedom
Don’t we all occasionally find ourselves wishing we could be free from the clutches of the internet? If you need help resisting temptation—like, a lot of help—cross-platform app Freedom has a ton of options. Block certain websites, block certain apps, block the entire internet, schedule ahead when certain things will be blocked, make it so you can’t turn off Freedom if you change your mind...the list of ways to remove any and all opportunities for distraction goes on and on.
Use it: Free or $29 a year for premium; freedom.to
5. Coffitivity
If you miss the Before Times simple pleasure of working out of a café instead of from home, Coffitivity is almost as good as the real thing. And these aren’t just your run-of-the-mill coffeehouse sounds. You have several specific ones to choose from, such as a university version, a low-key morning coffeehouse, or a Texas teahouse—plus more if you buy a premium account.
Use it: Free or $9 for premium; coffitivity.com
6. Focus To-Do
This app and browser extension combines your average task manager with the Pomodoro technique, making a pretty unstoppable productivity combination. You can create to-do lists, track time spent, and work more efficiently thanks to the Pomodoro timer and other productivity tools that help you break down and tackle goals. Upgrade to premium with a onetime fee and you also get features like cloud backup, more detailed statistics, and unlimited projects.
Use it: Free or $10; iOS, Google Play, Chrome extension, and desktop
7. Kanban Flow
Here’s another task manager with a built-in timer and other focus tools. The Kanban board is a task list divided by progress (such as to-do, in progress, to-do today, and done), giving you a broad overview of all that work you have to concentrate on. Which, TBH, can leave you room to focus on more important things. Beyond that, the built-in timer is designed to help you zero in on the task in front of you.
Use it: Free or $5 a month for premium; kanbanflow.com
8. Engross
Engross packs in a lot of features we’ve covered so far, all in one app. It has a customizable Pomodoro-inspired timer that allows you to time block periods of work and rest, as well as soothing sounds and app-blocking capabilities to reduce distractions. Plus, with repeating tasks and reminders, you’ll spend less time planning and more time working.
Use it: Free or $5 for premium; iOS and Google Play
9. Mindful Browsing
While website-blocking apps are effective for some, others might need a slightly gentler approach to avoiding distractions. For you, I recommend Mindful Browsing, an extension that lets you set goals around which websites you’d like to spend less time on. That way, it doesn’t block you from certain sites. It just gently nudges you when you’re on them and checks in to remind you that, hey, you said you’d rather not be doing this, remember? On top of that, you have the option of inputting other self-care reminders, such as breathing exercises, going for a walk, or even just scrolling through less stressful websites.
Use it: Free; mindfulbrowsing.org
10. Hocus Focus
If you often need to really home in on a certain project, Hocus Focus might help your brain from straying by automatically hiding applications you’re not using. So if you’re working on that report in Google sheets, Slack can quietly fade to the background. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
Use it: Free; hocusfoc.us
11. Brain.fm
One last background-sound option, this time for those of you who prefer some tunes. Brain.fm aims to create patented, science-backed music specifically designed to help you focus (you can read more about the science of it here). Even if you’re skeptical, you might want to check out their free trial just in case—I’ve seen it described as “witchcraft” on more than one occasion.
Use it: $7 a month or $50 a year; iOS and Google Play
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