What the research actually says about sound, phones and attention. Sourced, short, and each one lets you try the timer as you read.
What the three colours of noise actually are, what the research on noise and attention shows, and how to pick one for an office, a café, or a loud flat.
· 6 min read
ReadA 2017 study of 800 people found that a phone on the desk lowers working memory even when it is off. Every phone-based focus app puts it there. Here is the argument and a protocol that does not.
· 5 min read
ReadWhat binaural beats are, what a meta-analysis of 22 studies found, why some experiments show nothing, and how to decide in a week whether they do anything for you.
· 6 min read
ReadWhy steady noise helps some ADHD brains and hurts others, which sounds the studies actually tested, and a ten-minute way to find out whether it works for you.
· 7 min read
ReadMusic with lyrics, playlists, white noise, rain, café sound: what the studies on background sound and learning found, and a simple rule for choosing.
· 6 min read
ReadLooking for the Forest focus app on your PC or laptop? Forest lives on the phone it is trying to keep you off. What the same idea looks like on a Windows or Mac laptop, and where Forest is still the better choice.
· 5 min read
ReadUsing a phone app to stop using your phone keeps the phone on the desk. A focus timer that runs on your laptop instead, and how to set up a session without the phone in the room.
· 4 min read
ReadPractical steps that work for students: distance instead of willpower, one target per block, a sound that covers the room, and what to do when the urge to check arrives.
· 6 min read
ReadWhy 25 minutes is too long on some ADHD days and too short on others, what time blindness and hyperfocus do to a timer, and how to find your own block length in a week.
· 6 min read
ReadWhy working next to someone helps many people with ADHD start and keep going, how little research there is on it, and which parts you can rebuild on your own: a start time, a visible clock, a sound that feels like company.
· 6 min read
ReadNoisli is a good background-sound app with a subscription and a daily limit on the free plan. What a pay-once alternative with a focus timer looks like, and when Noisli is still the better pick.
· 4 min read
ReadPomofocus is a clean, free Pomodoro timer with a task list. What to use if you want long ambient soundscapes and set block lengths in the same tab, and when Pomofocus is the better tool.
· 4 min read
ReadBrain.fm makes focus music and charges about $100 a year. What a pay-once alternative built on ambient sound and a timer looks like, and when Brain.fm is the better choice.
· 4 min read
ReadFocusmate pairs you with a stranger on video so you both work. What to use on the days you want the structure without the camera, and when Focusmate is the better tool.
· 4 min read
ReadmyNoise is a huge free library of tuneable noise generators. What to use when you want fewer choices and a focus timer in the same tab, and why myNoise may still be all you need.
· 4 min read
ReadEndel makes adaptive soundscapes on a subscription, mostly on the phone. What a laptop-only, pay-once alternative with a focus timer looks like, and when Endel is the better pick.
· 4 min read
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