Focus

I started Focus in 2013. It’s a Mac app that blocks distracting websites and apps so you can do deep work: writing, design, programming, or any creative or knowledge work. It grew out of a command-line blocker I wrote for myself in 2010.

Most software on your computer is built to keep you hooked. Focus does the opposite and gives you back control of your own machine. The interface stays minimal so it gets out of your way: start a session from the menu bar and get to work. Schedules, Pomodoro timers, a locked mode and scripting are there when you need them.

Focus sees every URL you visit, so privacy comes first. It runs locally, never sends sensitive data off your Mac, and has never sold user data. I’ve run it as a small business for more than ten years, doing the design, code, support and marketing myself, and rewrote it from scratch in 2023.