Nir Eyal

Focusmate — Virtual coworking for getting anything done

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Focusmate changes the way you work by partnering you with an accountability partner for a live, virtual coworking session that will keep you on task.

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Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Hello, dear PH and Focusmate community! Taylor from Focusmate here. So much has changed in the 4 years since our first launch. Unfortunately, being focused and productive while working alone still remains a huge challenge for millions of people. The reality is that human beings are just not wired to perform without structure, accountability, and connection. That’s probably why our first launch was so successful — despite our product’s bare-bones state at the time. It turns out that working with an accountability partner, over a video call, is an incredibly powerful way to ensure we show up, set intentions for our time, and follow through. And while the essence of Focusmate is unchanged, we’ve been working hard to create an experience that is both more reliable as well as more adaptive to your individual needs and preferences. And so, today, we’re back here trying something new — a conversation with the PH and Focusmate communities, for you to share your thoughts on our recent enhancements, and those we’re planning in the months ahead. Our most recent releases include: - Favorites 1.0 — save your favorite coworking partners - 25- and 75-min sessions — go shorter or longer depending on your task and mood - Snooze — elect not to work with certain partners, for any reason and any duration - Background blur + virtual backgrounds — for privacy or fun - Picture-in-picture — see your partner in a small floating window while you work - Yearly billing — by popular demand - Favorites 2.1: Combined Availability — see all your favorite partners’ availability in one place Our upcoming releases include: - Favorites 2.2: Preferential Matching — automatically match with favorites when they’re available in your chosen slot - Rematching 2.0 — don’t lose your session even if your partner cancels at the last second - Last Minute Booking — find a match even if you book last minute by being added to the re-match queue - Matching Preferences 2.0 — control who you match with; select preferences such as active work, desk work, mics on/off, and more - Referral program — get Focusmate for free when you refer a new customer - And many more improvements to the user interface and experience that will make Focusmate even easier and more pleasant to use Our whole team will be engaged and responding to comments here for the next 24 hours. We’d love to hear your voice, and we’re not afraid of criticism. With gratitude, Taylor & Team Focusmate P.S. New to Focusmate? We’d love to offer you a free month of Plus — just use code PH2023 when you upgrade. (Valid until April 6, 2023.)
Sibu Sahu
@taylor_jacobson 👋 Hi Taylor and Team Focusmate! It's great to see how you've evolved over the past 4 years and I'm excited to try out the new features and upcoming releases. Keep up the great work! 🙌
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
@sibu_sahu so appreciate you saying that!!! and yes, please let us know what you think!
Ani Chakhalyan
@taylor_jacobson Focusmate has been an absolute game changer! I love the service and as someone who has been recommending it continuously to my friends and family, I’m very excited about the referral program! Thanks for the amazing work you guys do:))
Nir Eyal
Focusmate is one of the best productivity tools I've found. It is built around pre-commitment pacts — a psychological device that helps you get started and follow through on just about any task. Focusmate is an effective and accessible tool anyone can use — so much so that I mention it in my book, Indistractable, and invested in the company. I'm a huge believer in the team as well and thrilled with the evolution of this product in the four years since they last launched here. Looking forward to seeing what you all think!
Jon Leland
@nireyal Totally agree! It’s not hyperbole to say this app changed my life because of how it helps me get things done.
Dawn Sirdar
@nireyal Totally agree. I learned about it in your book Indistractable when we studied it in my mastermind group, and have been recommending it ever since. I used it for a long time. I am pretty scheduled and focused on my own but definitely could use it more. It is the one place I send people regularly.
Raghu Kalyan Ghadiyaram
@nireyal I second you 100% I started using Focusmate for my work sessions back in 2020 and have never gone back since then. I have to say, it has made a huge difference in my productivity. As someone who works remotely, it can be difficult to stay motivated and on-task throughout the day, but with Focusmate, I feel like I have a partner. During my Focusmate sessions, I'm able to stay laser-focused on my work without getting distracted by social media, emails, or other time-wasting activities. Knowing that someone else is working alongside me helps me stay on track and avoid procrastination. And the best part? After the session is over, I feel a sense of accomplishment that motivates me to keep working throughout the day. I have a better work-life balance thanks to FM.
Ross Macfarlane
@nireyal legend. I've heard from a few folks with ADHD that this is really helpful for them. I think they call it body doubling. I just dropped you a DM on linkedin about another lil focus app I'd love to get your opinion on if you're feeling it. 😄
pam valdes
I love Focusmate! I am an ADHD coach, and I recommend FM to my clients on a regular basis. It's a great concept and a valuable service - almost magical for some people! I also love the changes you've made, as well as the upcoming releases. I especially like the picture-in-picture and the favorites features. I wonder if it might be helpful to offer sessions for specific activities, such as exercise or cleaning/decluttering? I've had some clients tell me they'd like to use FM for those activities, but they are concerned that their physical movements would be distracting to their partner. BTW, it was a bit of an ordeal getting signed in through producthunt - I almost gave up, but I really believe in you guys, and I wanted to leave comments and support you.
Hamza A
@pkme hey Pam, I’m just thinking, most the people I’ve experienced don’t mind if you’ve got some cleaning or some exercise to do. Is it really worth creating a separate sessions for different activities and segmenting users more. Just thinking aloud as since the introduction of the 75 minute and perhaps 25 min sessions I don’t always match with someone and it really throws me off schedule. And I’m sure it happens to others too.
Dina DiRenzo
@pkme @hamza_abid I agree. The snoozing feature is so versatile that if someone really doesn't want to be matched with someone who's not doing desk work (or only doing desk work), they can snooze that person. Granted that means they have 1 session where it's not their ideal, but FM has so many users it's impossible to not expect to sacrifice a little for the good of the whole community. Maybe there can be a checklist of activities on the profile page and folks can be encouraged to select which activities they might be doing or would prefer not to match with on their profile? For example, I'm almost always doing desk work, but I don't care what my partner is doing and whether they need to "chat only" or have some other way of working different than I do. That way, if I match with someone who doesn't want to be cleaning while I sit at my desk, they can look at my profile, see how I use FM, and then cancel the session (with enough time for me to get rematched, of course) and/or snooze me.
pam valdes
@hamza_abid - I actually agree with you. I've just had some of my clients not try FM for those activities because they worry they would bother the other person. The #1 reason I have heard from my clients for not trying FM is feeling self-conscious, so I thought that anything that could increase their comfort level would be good.
Jon Leland
@pkme Me too! I jumped through the product hunt hoops so I could upvote this product because it’s that important to me.
Lori Mack Boyles
@pkme @hamza_abid @dinadm I definitely agree with Dina's point quoted below! I would also add that it would be GREAT to be able to mark A SPECIFIC SESSION as "up and moving," "mostly off-camera," "exercising," "lazy wake-up routine," "prefer desk work only," or whatever. I've only ever had one partner who preferred desk work only, but still, every time I ask a new session partner if they'd mind if I'm off camera for about 15 minutes while I take a quick shower (or whatever), I'm always a little worried that they'll be disappointed that I won't be there to pass along my productivity vibes. It would be awesome if I could announce my intentions for a given session in advance! "Maybe there can be a checklist of activities on the profile page and folks can be encouraged to select which activities they might be doing or would prefer not to match with on their profile? For example, I'm almost always doing desk work, but I don't care what my partner is doing and whether they need to "chat only" or have some other way of working different than I do. That way, if I match with someone who doesn't want to be cleaning while I sit at my desk, they can look at my profile, see how I use FM, and then cancel the session (with enough time for me to get rematched, of course) and/or snooze me."
S V
I love focusmate. Here are a few tweaks I would love to see: 1. The optional session title should sync with your calendar so you can see what you accomplished on your calendar 2. Personally, I think there should be a (small) cost to cancelling a session within 10 minutes of the start. This adds some incentives to the powerful accountability of body doubling. 3. It would be interesting to experiment with 10 minute sessions. These could be for those who are just struggling to get started but are fine once started. These could also be useful for those hard single tasks like meditating or an email you have been avoiding sending! More, later!
Terry Farrah
@focusmater I love the idea of a cost to cancelling within 10 minutes of start! When my mate cancels at last minute, I need to be re-matched, and sometimes that isn't successful. And sometimes I've taken the trouble to learn about my mate; super disappointing when I don't get to work with them. The cost could be managed by a points or ratings system, similar to the ratings we get as Airbnb users.
Maude Kaye
@focusmater I'm not sure I agree with #2. For me in the US, $5 a month is a nominal fee but if this is prohibitive for people in less developed countries, adding additional fees would make it even more prohibitive. Maybe there is another way to give a slap on the wrist without limiting participation.
Sara Demers
@focusmater Yes to number one and number three! Totally agree. As for #3, Costs can mean anything, both just money. Really I don't think people should pay money, but there could be some type of system where if you have multiple cancellations or you show up late multiple times, you get warnings of account suspensions or something. I think it would be nice for there to be some accountability on that front. I'm not so concerned with the cancellations in general because people are getting booked by their favorites within 10 minutes of a session and that's fine with me. The only time I really get bothered is when somebody cancels a locked in session with me at the last minute. That just sucks a lot. And I just tend to snooze them if they do that twice.
David - Team Focusmate
@focusmater These are great ideas. For #1, improving our calendar integration in general is definitely on our radar. For #2, did you have something specific in mind? Negative reinforcement can be hard to design in a kind way!
Denise
@focusmater I disagree that there should be a penalty for lateness. I think it would be great to have a percentage by your name so you can see what percentage of the time you are on time though. One reason I oppose this is that there are bugs within Focusmate that make me late. For example, if I am editing my profile or reading my focusmate’s profile, the reminder alarm doesn’t go off. I have one 1 min before and a third party extension that is 5 seconds before the session start, and neither work unless I am on the calendar page.
Yuzhou Bai
I have suggested this previously to the team. Sometimes life happens. After a no-show to a scheduled session, I'd love to send a apology message to the person I was matched with.
Sara Demers
@yuzhou_bai I think there's a messaging feature but I think people can choose if they want to be messaged. I remember messaging people at some point!
Alejandro - Team Focusmate
@yuzhou_bai Thanks for the feedback Yuzhou 🙌! I understand the feeling, we'll keep your suggestion in mind for future updates and continue to work on improving the experience for both sides when life doesn't go as planned. Thanks again!
Bebe T
@yuzhou_bai Same! Something we could write and have sent automatically?
Ramona W
@yuzhou_bai @sara_demers It's really hard to find the messaging feature but I have used it a couple times. But I don't know if the other person even sees the message, if they don't check their email.
Shawnnita
@yuzhou_bai there is a way to make contact with your Focusmate that you’ve missed but I’d have to deep dive my Facebook posts in the Focusmate group to find out how again, but yes! I agree an easy way to do this would be great.
Dominic Roser
--> I have thought many times that it would make sense for people with mic on/off preferences to be matched automatically with each other. --> Even more importantly: It would be great if those who have no mic at all and only write their hello & goals into the chatbox ("chat only") could be matched among themselves. --> A smart improvement would be this: Focusmate measures *how* punctual someone typically is and then matches them with people who have a similar punctuality score. Thus, those who care about starting early / on time are matched with each other and those who prefer being relaxed are matched with each other. --> Anything you can do to make focusmate easily and cheaply available for people with few financial means in developing countries is much appreciated. PS: As always -- I LOVE focusmate.
tlcoles
@dominic_roser Just an FYI: some people who choose „(Text) chat only“ do not have the physical ability to speak. I don‘t mean people who are in libraries, workplaces, or cafes – I mean those who physically cannot. While a minority of users, they are there and should not be restricted to only chat amongst themselves.
josh weiss
@dominic_roser I disagree on the punctuality thing. Sorry but my punctuality (and based on what I've experienced in over 3,000 sessions) is that people's punctuality in general is a ***moving target***. I've even sat & read people's profile who insist on punctuality who then arrive....late to the session. :).
Dominic Roser
@braziljosh -- I agree on it being a moving target. But aren't there averages? By the way, my suggestion was not at all meant to suggest that it more noble to be punctual. To me, being punctual or not (and, correspondingly, expecting it of others or not) is more of a preference.
Maria Zirra
@dominic_roser I fully agree on the last point. I have so many friends who have a hard time shelling this much in South Africa where I used to live. You make just so much less as an academic there then for instance where I am in Sweden. I also agree on the punctuality, though it's not always a deterrent. Maybe an option to choose whether you want to be matched with chat only/bodydoubling people or not :)? I don't mind a chat only function when I'm in the library, for instance, but sometimes you need the vocal interaction for accountability.
josh weiss
@dominic_roser yeah, i'm likely biased by my own experience but I still think it's like what exact minute do you get out of bed every day (because we're talking exact here since it's a 2 min window) - is it really that predictable?
David Hamer
Thoughts on adding subscription pausing? I tend not to use FocusMate etc if I'm working on an internship / away in the summer, but at uni find it very valuable. (+ want to keep my legacy discount!)
Adrian Ștefârță
@davidhamer I second this. I use Focusmate pretty sporadically, I think this could be a useful feature.
Chiara del Dabo
@davidhamer I second this one, even though I did not think about it beforehand; it would be useful during seasonal breaks
Emanuele Cagliero
@davidhamer I second this one too. In some periods I work prevalently at the office and do not use Focusmate, thereofore I canceled the subscription, but in some future periods I'll work remotely again so I will need to reactivate it. (btw I've most probably lost the legacy discount, unfortunately :( )
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
@davidhamer thanks for the feedback! This totally makes sense and is on our radar!
Stevie P
@davidhamer Agreed. I’m not always at my desk 24/7 but it ebbs and flows. Sometimes I’m just in the zone and don’t need it.
Alex
I've found that keeping a short record of my sessions has improved my Focusmate experience. I log the initial goal at the beginning, and then afterwards a rating of my productivity 0-5, what I accomplished, and whether I was off task. If there's no record, it's easy to let a few sessions go by without getting much done; writing it down increases my accountability to myself. And especially so if I then have a system to *go back and look* at what I've written down, or summarize it in some way. I'd be enthusiastic about a 'rate 0-5' prompt built in to FM at the end of a session, plus some graphs in your profile of your average ratings each day / week so you can see your progress. [edit to clarify: I mean 'rate your own productivity', not your partner or the video quality, etc]
Naomi
@a____s I like this proposal. I think it would be beneficial to put more direct task management into FM. There is the possibility of naming different sessions, but I assume it is a little used feature. Also when I reorganize my schedule, the tasks I have written for a session disappear. I would like it if Focusmate had a task manager feature of some kind instead of using other apps for that.
Maude Kaye
@a____s I love this idea. No necessarily as a rating of your partner but as a metric to assess your own productivity. With that data you could find patterns, like I'm always a 0-1 at 2pm so maybe that should be a break time for me. Or if you notice that you've got 2 bad focus sessions in a row you know you have to change something you're doing. Additionally it could help with positive reinforcement if you notice that your scores are improving.
Lori Mack Boyles
@a____s @naomi3 @maude_kaye I LOVE the original suggestion as well as the "yes-and" modifications to it. All of these features would be really helpful to me as well!
Miesha Agrippa
@a____s Yes, yes, yes. I remember reading about the importance of "tracking" your progress in two ways: lead indicators and lag indicators. It would be awesome built out some features for users to track those indicators.
David - Team Focusmate
@a____s These are great ideas! Thanks for the feedback. Personal analytics are definitely on the radar, and this would be a great way to make them even more useful.
April Damron
Focusmate has been a game changer for me as well. It’s so automatic now to book sessions as soon as I sit down to work. Thank you, Focusmate team, for all you’ve done and created for us! One of my biggest requests I see you are already handling (Matching Preferences 2.0), but I wonder if there could be an option for task check-offs for those of us who like to get more specific. Typically, we write in the chat our specific goals for the session, and then we may or may not update with our progress. I would love an option to have a segment visible to both partners where I can write down all the tasks I’d like to accomplish in the session, and then as they are completed, I can merely click a button next to the task I’ve completed that shows it as completed. And it’s optional to use, so if my partner doesn’t care to use it, there’s no expectation. I’m not sure if this is a game-changer idea for me, but it would be a nice option. I’m truly so thankful to have found FM. I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I need in order to produce quality work. You’re doing a great job, team!
António - Team Focusmate
@april_ish We're so glad to hear Focusmate has been such a game-changer and that you're looking forward to our new releases! Having an editable list of tasks is something that has been suggested is definitely on our radar :)
Lori Mack Boyles
@april_ish @antonio_braga YES! Check-off-able tasks in a session would be so great! Especially for ADHD brains who benefit from that rush of dopamine, especially when someone can observe it and (potentially) cheer us on. Maybe there could be a master to-do list (or similar) on the platform, and a user could select certain items to attach to a given FM session? Either from the dashboard (or wherever) or within the session itself? That way, even after a session ends, the user would be able to see the checked-off items for reference...and even better, they could see anything that didn't get checked off so they can just scoot it to their next session. I'd love that!
Dylan Newcomb
@april_ish I completely agree! I came to this feedback thread to share this same idea, but I'm glad I read through and found you'd already suggested the EXACT same one, April! 🙏 :-). Having a list, and being able to check it off would really help me to break up my time (esp. 45 minute sessions) into smaller, more manageable micro-milestones. I need to do this more anyway. But then texting all of this in, and then updating them each time I accomplish one, well, I feel like I'm "bothering them" too much, so I keep my chat entries to a minimum. But a checklist like this, where they can simply see at a glance that I've checked off 2 of my four items etc is better for both parties, I imagine. A ten-fold YES to this, my most desired future feature!
Daria Marschall
Hi Focusmate Team! I really love what you’ve built and that you’re interested in what the community wants to say ❤️ loving all the ideas above but want to add something to the preferential favorites matching: Would it be also possible to actively switch that on or off? I really love my favorite focusmates but sometimes I also enjoy meeting new people very much and having a variety in my coworking partners. That’s also what my adhd brain needs to not get bored 🙈 would be great if you could take that into consideration :)
António - Team Focusmate
@daria_marschall Hey Daria, thank you so much for the kind words and for the feedback! Whenever we introduce new features we always try to improve without changing the Focusmate experience so when we implement preferential matching, we will definitely take this into account :)
David - Team Focusmate
@daria_marschall +1 to what @antonio_braga said. As an additional FYI, if you find that your favorites are directly booking with you too often already, you could temporarily set your availability setting to "No One" in your preferences page. This will make it so that not even your favorites can book sessions directly with you.
Stevie P
It took my partner 3 reminders to get me onto FocusMate and I’m so glad he persisted. I’m actually obsessed. I feel like I could be in advertising for FM. 🙂 My ADHD brain is so dependent on this. I love meeting random people from all over. The new time additions are awesome. I like the option to wait if someone is running a little late. Perhaps an indicator if someone is willing to have a short chat post-session. My random little chats have been so cool. My faves were seeing a likeminded person try to make a skirt and another cleaning mushrooms they’d just collected from the forest. Soooo cool. Are there options for displaying languages? Might be cool to be able to connect with others who are speaking and learning languages. I think I’ve mentioned in an email to you that an indicator of who’s happy to introduce newbies might be good. Thanks for everything! Your website is life changing for some of us ND folk. I’m wondering what the rules are for underage users. I’d love for my students to use this or something similar, without any major risks.
Lori Mack Boyles
@spicko I love all of these ideas! If there were a way to volunteer to onboard Focusmate newbies, I'd shoot my hand up so fast I'd probably dislocate my shoulder. ;) My very first FM buddy was really welcoming and helpful, and that made a huge difference. I love being the "new student buddy" in any situation, and I'd enjoy doing that for Focusmate!
josh weiss
@spicko +1 on the languages. I put flags on my profile now for my languages (work around alert!)
David - Team Focusmate
@spicko I totally relate to feeling like you're advertising for FM 😂 my friends are probably tired of hearing about it by now! Thanks for the feedback. I think indicators for languages, chattiness, newbie-friendliness, etc. are all good ways to strengthen the community. We'll keep them in mind!
Teo Valdés
I had actually reached out to the Focusmate team yesterday to suggest a language feature that might make Focusmate accessible to folks who don't speak English and so I can let people know that I also speak Spanish. The Focusmate rep told me they were collecting feedback here, so I guess it was good timing! Appreciate your bringing the language topic up, @spicko
Danielle Abel
I absolutely love FocusMate. It has made my remote work way more productive and I DO NOT FEEL ALONE! I really had a hard time staying committed to my work due to the isolation of working by yourself. I am so thankful for this software! I absolutely love the 50 min sessions. I found that I get overwhelmed with the 75 min sessions. I would love if there was a pool for late people lol. Sometimes I'm rushing to my desk to book a last minute session (like right at 15 minutes past the hour and the have to wait 15 minutes to book another session. Possibly there could be a feature to connect people who book last minute (I think Taylor mentioned this in his post) where we could work a partial session if we booked within 2 minutes after? (Ie: by 8:17, 8:32, 8:47, etc.) They would still be 25, 50, or 75 min sessions, but we would just end up working slightly less because we booked last minute. I find that when I have those 15 minutes to wait between sessions I waste a TON of time... Again, thank you for this software!
David - Team Focusmate
@danielle_abel I relate 😂 This is on our radar for sure. Thanks for your feedback!
Ramona W
@danielle_abel I agree! so often I think, I should book a FM session, but then look at the clock and it is just a few minutes after a potential start time. Would be happy to have the opportunity to be a "late partner" for someone whose partner was a no-show.
R
One of the most life-changing tools I've ever used! I wish I'd found it sooner! Incredible for motivation, with beautiful unexpected connections with people worldwide who are working on different things (and who are keen to hear about what I'm doing, too). I've only been using it a few months and already coworked with data scientists, software engineers, someone who took me along for their morning walk as the sun rose in Berlin (sharing the view on camera on their phone), someone playing cello, people doing food preparation, and others using it to get through life admin of paying bills and preparing notes for a medical appointment - with their cute cat sitting with us. It's simple and easy to use. I love that I can match with a random stranger or use the "favourites" functionality to schedule sessions with people I already know. I'm very grateful to the founders and all the staff who have been and continue to be involved with developing and maintaining this. You're changing lives. Thank you.
António - Team Focusmate
@r31 We're touched that we get to play a small positive part in your life. At the end of the day, our product is our community, so none of these great moments would be possible without people like you! Thank you so much for everything and for playing a part in creating these beautiful connections💙
Shawnnita
@r31 @daria_marschall I’m interested in how you can in your walks. Body cam? Go pro? iPhone in hand? Tell me more as I love these videos and would like to share as well.🙂
Linda M
Focusmate has been great. A few suggestions for future features from what I see people need: 1. A way to let people easily see what you are currently working on would be very helpful in helping people doing similar tasks find each other. Some tasks, it matters quite a bit to some people that they have some similarities, such as in the rise and fall group, or maybe in exercising, or working on a long-term thesis, etc. In any case, it's nice to put it down and therefore the person themselves has clarity on what they are working on next. 2. More than one focusmate partner at a time. Therefore if one didn't show up (happened to me this morning and I waited 20 minutes) another one may be there. Additionally, there are popular days my partners would like to get together with me and I am only one person. Some activities can work really well with more than one. 3. Speaking of videos, I bought a small laptop to be able to have a device I could use the share screen feature on in Focusmate as it doesn't exist on the phone or tablet. I think it would be great to have that feature although of course now that I have my laptop it's no longer a top feature to have for me but I'm sure others would love it. ;> 4. Focusmate didn't really work for me until I found the right partners and now it's an invaluable tool to help me with the habit of getting up earlier and to wind down at night along with the usual to get tasks done during the day done although I use if for that the least due to shyness and cancellations. I came very close to giving up on Focusmate because it felt strange to work with strangers and I would get rematched at the last minute or canceled after I had tken the time to read the person's profile to get familiar with them and was looking forward to working with them. I later found out the cancelling and rematching could have been because some favorite of theirs locked in the session at the last minute. But as a newbie that was very confusing and unhelpful to be canceled on last minute. But I digress. My main ask is to think of how someone can find partners that are the right fit for them. Body doubling is very useful but it can be super powerful if the partner is a great match and meeting them is done on a regular basis. If Focusmate can have some kind of feature integrated to the app that helps people find others with similar needs it would really be helpful. I finally after being very close to giving up on Focusmate decided to post something on a facebook group for exactly what I needed and that made all the difference. It would be nice if that partner search could be incorporated as an integral part of Focusmate. 5. Lastly, can there be a blur feature? Where the person can see you are there but barely? There are people who like to go off screen for privacy and I'm thinking maybe a blur feature instead would be helpful? I'm thinking in the cases where they are eating something and don't want nosh in someone's face. Or other situations ... Something your team can brainstorm? I am not sure how to deal with it (maybe show quarter screen? lol) but I know it's a need and something that would be helpful because some people would just go off camera and that's not super helpful to the partner. Thanks! I love the free 3 times a week that is great for people trying it out. Thank you for implementing this great application.
António - Team Focusmate
@linda_m1 Thank you so much for the detailed feedback and suggestions! Hopefully, the release of matching preferences will address a few of your suggestions by giving you the ability to be matched with someone using their session for a similar activity :) Ps: During a session, you have the option to blur your background or add background effects. You can select them by clicking the camera icon on the bottom left corner of your screen!
Kate McNamara
I also wish there was a way to block last minute changes. I'm the same way and look at a person's profile and it bothers me when I'm matched with a stranger last second. I would rather the session be canceled so I can re-book with a favorite myself or set up a later time. I'll look forward to the release of matching preferences. I am curious about the partner search too, as I had never heard of working with dedicated partners that way. @linda_m1
Ramona W
@linda_m1 Some good points! I personally just put my face off camera when I'm eating, so only my shoulders / back show on camera.
MF
@linda_m1 +1 re the great comment around blurring. I would also encourage allowing face filters (e.g. a bunny or puppy filter- not a beauty filter). In addition to affording privacy while eating, this is an essential tool for people who feel unsafe online for whatever reason.
Michelle Cannon
@linda_m1 @antonio_braga I'm loving the idea of matching preferences. I have often thought, and meant to email (but ya know - ADHD lol) requesting that others could see what we're doing when we type in the labels on the calendar. I want to do wake up sessions and exercise sessions but REALLY would like the other person to know to expect that. But because they don't know, I don't do it. Maybe this preferences thing will help.
Nathalie Lussier
One question I have is about minimizing the ecological or carbon footprint of the service. There are a few different studies showing the carbon footprint of streaming video, and I worry that if more people stream video while they work on FocusMate, it will exacerbate the issue. What are you doing to address this aspect or reduce the amount of data required to run FocusMate? For example, would you ever consider doing a "low-fi" eco option? I find that I often make the video small on my computer so I can see my work... so we don't need a ton of detail in the video itself. Other than this concern, I'm a happy FocusMate customer and get a lot of value in pair-working with people!
David - Team Focusmate
@nathlussier Thanks for bringing this one up! Focusmate already defaults to the lowest quality video connection available through our video call provider, since HD video isn't that important during a session. We'll keep this in mind for future iterations of our video platform!
Shaun Langley
I'm relatively new to Focusmate but it's honestly been transformative to my work and my productivity. I do have a few suggestions: 1. Allow users to make their pronouns visible publiclly in a way that is meaningful. I shouldn't have to open a partner's profile to see their info before a meeting starts. Some people get around this by adding their pronouns instead of their last name. This is exactly what I would like to see. 2. Allow matching/exclusion of partners based on what type of session they want to have (e.g. chat only, mic on/off, screen share). Again people get around this by adding this info to their name field but it's not ideal. 3. The ability to trigger a rematch for a scheduled session without having to cancel and rebook (often just matching with the same person again). I don't always want to snooze the person -- I've never met them. but maybe I'm just not in the mindset to have a session with a particular type of person or maybe they already indicate they only do chat and that's not what I want at that moment. Again. LOVE the service. I recommend it to everyone I talk to these days.
Alejandro - Team Focusmate
@jorjgaidin Hey Shaun, your suggestions are fantastic ✨! Thank you for taking the time to share them with us. We're thrilled to hear about your positive experience and appreciate you recommending Focusmate to others 🙌!
Miesha Agrippa
@jorjgaidin Re: 1. That would be awesome if someone's profile could open up in-page, off to the side. It would be great to learn a little more about the folks I'm working with! Maybe the feature is locked during the session (to avoid distractions) but accessible before and after.
Julia Minor
@jorjgaidin I'm a little confused on why the pronouns are needed for FocusMate since it is currently just one on one. I can't think of a way the conversation could go that would result in needing to use someone's pronouns. Unless I was talking about you to someone and telling you about how I talked about you to someone else? Which would be kind of weird? Am I missing something?
Bruce Robinson
My suggestions on Focusmate: 1. Please don't use Product Hunt to give you feedback. Having to join Product Hunt, confirm email ..... ; you can do better than this as like someone else below I almost stopped this process 2. BRB Button 3. Checklist for this is what I am getting done this session - with a Done option for items in the list. I'm forever writing in the chat, "7 things to be done this session", 1 Done, 2 Done etc. 4. The ability to connect with specific people when they want to connect with you on the Focusmate Facebook page. I'm currently looking for an accountability partner and someone has written book a session with me but how do they do this without broadcasting their private booking link to everyone? 5. Continue to see me in the PnP window 6. Optional Encouragement Pop-Ups. Love the "New" Pop-Ups and the etiquette of dealing with Newbies. "Great to see you back with us", "Wow 1,000 sessions completed!", Your Focusmate has completed 1,000 sessions this session" .... Focusmate is making a difference in the world. Never stop improving! Enjoy!
MF
@timrek63 +1 re Product Hunt. I almost feel bad saying it, because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I love FM so much and that's the only reason I continued through the process. Now I gotta figure out how to delete my account and unsubscribe.
Alejandro - Team Focusmate
@timrek63 Hi Bruce, this is awesome feedback 🙌! On 4: If you are connecting of facebook, the easiest will be for them to send you a DM of their invite link in the same platform. If they are sharing it publicly, and someone else takes it, the good news is that recently we have added the chance to reset invite links! After a reset, no one will be able to access to your calendar with the old invite link. Otherwise, by exchanging your profiles URLs (the one located on your profile right below your timezone) you can just use the favorites' functionality to book directly with each other. That said, it's our radar to improve the dynamics for the exact interaction you've mentioned :)! Improvements on 6) are planned for this year too. Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to help us improve 💖!
Lori Mack Boyles
@timrek63 I love #6 -- the encouragement/milestone pop-ups. I'd love that! It's always such fun to be able to tell my partner "by the way, this is your 400th session; congratulations!"
Andie M
@timrek63 I so agree with all of these but especially #3 would be fantastic. I learned from another FM partner (I'm still pretty new) that it's helpful when I and my partner list tasks in the chat and note when they're finished.
Chiara del Dabo
I love Focusmate, ever since my (very late) ADHD diagnosis it has been a game changer. I would like to have a quick switch, like a drop-down menu, to choose every time whether I can talk or not during the session, without having to change my name. Is it at all feasible?
David - Team Focusmate
@dabogirl This is a good one! We'll keep it in mind - lots of people have "chat only" in their names. Thanks for your feedback!
Bebe T
@dabogirl I second this idea on a drop-down menu to let folks know whether I can talk or not during a session.
Maura Kate Costello
I would love the option to work with more than one person at a time-- it could stay small, but like maybe up to 5 people? and once it goes beyond that, to split the group up evenly (so if there were 6, make two groups of 3; if there were 16, four groups of 4). It would also be nice to work in groups based on the type of work you're doing. For example, I'd love to have the option to find others who are working out, or house cleaning, or taking care of personal admin stuff like bills and scheduling doc appointments. Even if you could just indicate between active v desk work, that would be great. It's less important to me when doing "desk work" to find other people doing exactly my same kinds of tasks (writing, answering emails, social media maintenance for my company, etc.), but it still could be nice to find other writers and scientists can find other scientists, etc. I know there's a setting to show people in certain groups in your calendar, but this in particular doesn't quite fit the need when you're doing a more active task like working out or cleaning.
Lori Mack Boyles
@maura_kate_costello I agree it would be cool to be able to work with more than one person at a time! As for matching kinds of tasks: the Focusmate groups feature accomplishes SOME of what you're describing. For example, a scientist could join a FM group for scientists, then in their dashboard, check the box on the left to only display sessions for people that are in that particular group--and only book with those people. That wouldn't cover everything you're requesting, of course, but I thought I'd mention it on the off-chance you (or someone else reading this!) didn't know about that option.
David - Team Focusmate
@maura_kate_costello Thanks for the feedback! Our matching preferences feature should hopefully address your second point. And we'll keep group sessions in mind - it's a very interesting idea!
Bebe T
@maura_kate_costello This would be a nice feature to add to some of the groups, like "neurodivergent squad".
Elliott F.
I love focusmate! I would say my biggest frustration or area of improvement is that on a 25 minute session, sometimes the person is just under 2 minutes late and then there is sometimes too much chit chat. I understand that these can be seen as the features and not the bug since you get the human element at the end of the day. And yes I’m happy to see rematching 2.0 because sometimes i sign up for a session close to the start time and it just can’t match me with anyone. I imagine this might get fixed in 2.0. Keep it up!
Daria Marschall
@mrtunes agreed! I sometimes think that changing that 2-min timeframe to 1-min for the 25 min sessions and then get rematched could solve this
Alejandro - Team Focusmate
@mrtunes Hey Elliot, that's awesome feedback 🙌! Maximizing the chance of matching and improving the compatibility between partners are things we'll constantly keep in our radar. Thanks for taking the time to help us improve!