Focus Friend by Hank Green Reviews

I got FocusFriendbyHankGreen because I thought the idea was great, but in its current form its kind of useless. I feel like I’m missing something, but the bean stays focused even if I leave FocusFriendbyHankGreen . What does that do for me? Thats not very focused. There “deep focus mode” (which if I'm not wrong is just an actual focus mode) which can block other apps, but it cant block all apps, namely safari. Thats a huge problem since safari is probably the most distraction-friendly app imaginable. I understand this might be a safari thing, but I don't understand why FocusFriendbyHankGreen doesn't allow you to have the focus be broken when FocusFriendbyHankGreen is left. Is that somehow a really hard thing to do? I’m leaving this review mostly because I really want FocusFriendbyHankGreen to he something that works for me, but currently it doesn't function in a way that actually helps. I will update my review if FocusFriendbyHankGreen is updated to work properly or if it turns out I am mistaken.

Very cute app and I love all the ideas behind it, I hope they keep expanding it beyond where its at, maybe with features like a sleep mode (ooh maybe even where using it can unlock decorations for a bedroom, i wanna make my bean a whole house). The only thing Im not a big fan of is the subscription-based model. It’s not expensive, but in a world with far too many recurring payments I would be much happier to spend money on a one time payment.

I have been using the Forest app to help with distractions. I like how FocusFriendbyHankGreen creates a more incentive of decorating your place in exchange for your attention. I hope it expands to allow for different categories of why you’re focusing as I like to use it for work and for reading purposes. I would like to see how much i have focused on reading vs work. As this is a soft launch, I hope they add on more rooms and then eventually you could create houses or anything additional to keep the momentum going. With new additions and improvements, I’m sure this will be my go to deep focus app!

Apps can still be used while bean is knitting which defeats the purpose unless you use deep focus. More importantly to me I’m not going to use FocusFriendbyHankGreen as much if I can’t access my music not all screen time is created equally I’ve used Opal before which lets you pick which is nice though FocusFriendbyHankGreen isn’t as charming or gamified. I’m personally not into another subscription service and prefer a one time fee so that’s out for me. Overall it’s cute and could be helpful I’d love to see it expand with more rooms and decor though I’m kind of bummed that there are some items I can only get with a subscription but I also understand that games need money to be made and run so I’d say it’s fair enough. It would be nice in the future if we could buy clothes as well. I just want to be able to have access to thinks like my music app also focus mode prevents me from looking at my college app which is inconvenient

I’ve been enjoying FocusFriendbyHankGreen. Great job! I have no issues with it, but here are some things I would love to see added:

-Customizing the background. Maybe different weather or times of day, plus some fun fantasy scenes or landscapes. Could even have it sync to your weather app and match the weather of your location.

-Purchasing different wallpapers and floors for the room.

-Something to do when you’ve unlocked everything you want and are just hoarding socks/scarves. Could introduce an inefficient sock-to-scarf exchange, very expensive “long-term-goal” special items/abilities, etc.

-one-time premium subscription (never mind! Just saw this got added! Nice!)

-Screenshot/share feature that removes the UI

-Add more rooms for more decorating space?? I’m spitballing by now but decorating different rooms with different functions would be cool. These could either be in-app purchases or the aforementioned very expensive purchases to give use to excess socks.

-Ability to change the Lock Screen focus timer appearance. This could be for color, decoration, font, etc.

Again, still very satisfied with FocusFriendbyHankGreen. I understand it just came out and that not all of this is realistic; these were just some wishlist items. Thanks!

I honestly love FocusFriendbyHankGreen , it’s such a cute idea and having the friendly lil bean knit while I work is almost like body-doubling or working with the buddy system to stay focused. My only suggestions are 1-A few different musical options. 2-A way to connect it to Apple Watch so I could see the timer even if I’m moving around cleaning. 3-Preventing the screen from going dark. Currently if I want the music to continue, I have to keep FocusFriendbyHankGreen open, but my phone (as most do) has an auto shut off so as not to waste battery. I’d love if there was a default option to prevent this from happening. Thankfully, even when the screen is off, FocusFriendbyHankGreen keeps going. I just wish the music would continue to play :3

I’m loving FocusFriendbyHankGreen so far. I got the yearly subscription and I feel good about that. I may upgrade to lifetime at some point. I don’t mind paying for an app when it’s good. Software costs money, after all! I’m excited to see what gets added. I’d love more rooms, more bean types, and more things to knit! I’ve tried a lot of things to reduce my screen time and this is the only thing that’s ever worked.

This is the best focus timer I’ve ever used and the gamification, art style, and music is wonderful. Plus, the fact that the bean is knitting makes me genuinely not want to use my phone because I don’t want to disrupt him and undo his stitches! He’s working so hard, it would be rude! Looking forward to seeing how FocusFriendbyHankGreen evolves over time, especially if there were more alarm/alert functions and options for when FocusFriendbyHankGreen isn’t open.

I am loving the timer! It is solving so many problems I’ve been facing like just not knowing how much time is passing for things at work and not taking care of myself. Now I can set an easy and motivating 50 minute timer, focus up, and then get a 5 minute break after! I now remember to drink water, stretch, take my eyes off a screen, and more!! I love earning the scarves and the socks. I LOVE the puns! FocusFriendbyHankGreen is perfect all around! Can’t wait to see what else they do with it!

Love FocusFriendbyHankGreen! Finally a focus app that does what it’s supposed to do, plus at $15/year it is *affordable* and accessible!

Getting started on your work is the hardest part, and FocusFriendbyHankGreen helps with that. Plus the art is adorable!

I like that I can customize which apps are “turned off” during work time. Helps keep me from scrolling, but I can listen to podcasts or watch TV on my phone while I do the dishes.

Suggestions for updates:
-Seasonal items
-Additional rooms (kitchen, living room, etc)
-Events (double points)
-Stats/categories for work time (reading, cleaning, hobbies, etc)
-Pets that interact with surroundings (one-time in-app purchase)
-Accessories for Bean
-Achievements for milestones (every 8 hours of work or something??)

Love it so far and can’t wait for more. Thank you Hank and team for a great app!!

I’m incredibly picky about productivity apps, but this one is definitely a winner. The mechanics are simple, yet the design hits all the right dopamine triggers. I’ve genuinely been getting more done, but without the guilt or pressure other tools tend to create. It’s cute, calming, and actually fun to use. I really love deep work mode + the 2-hour time limit to prevent over-committing. If you have ADHD (or just struggle to start tasks because you can’t get off your phone), Focus Friend might be the gentle push you didn’t know you needed.

I have such a fixation right now with doom scrolling to stay informed and looking for videos in search of “false hope” that it takes an impact on my mental health, I’ve had FocusFriendbyHankGreen just today but so far today it’s been nice to use this as a tool to try to stay present, I did doom scroll today for two hours. Still, I could break that fixation with FocusFriendbyHankGreen for 15 minutes, and while the timer was running, I wanted so badly to go back on my search. Still, as I rode out the time I found myself alot more present and able to move away from my phone, thanks Hank and John you guys have gotten me through school, family issues, my teen years and now my adult life in this society that seems to be terrifying to live through in its current moment but you guys are always able to shine a light of hope through it and remind us that there is hope in being present and alive. Thank you 🫶🏼

I work nights and have a hard time calming my thoughts down before I go to sleep. I usually check my email, my messages, my calendar, shop, catch up on the news, and so on. So I have been using this to help me sleep. I block my apps, set it for an hour, and I’ve been falling asleep quicker without all the temptation.

I hope FocusFriendbyHankGreen continues to push out updates and possibly balances the cost of items because it wouldn’t take long to fully furnish the little room. Maybe clothing could be an option?

FocusFriendbyHankGreen is actually wildly effective at stopping me from opening instagram, I don’t even need to turn on deep focus. I just leave FocusFriendbyHankGreen open and turn off my screen. That way, when the attention span inevitably wanders and I pick up my phone to look up that one post I was thinking about, I see the bean and I’m stopped in my tracks. Beanie’s knitting, how could I disturb them??

I hope in the future we get to see the bean sitting, if not in the various chairs at least on the rug or floor. I feel bad watching them on their feet all day.

FocusFriendbyHankGreen is great, the concept is great and I see it going far. It’s cute and works great!! I have adhd and this has been helping. Now on to the suggestions!! I do wish there were more decorations, you get a pretty decent amount of socks per focus session making it pretty easy to decorate the room (not necessarily a bad thing) but because there isn’t a large selection of furniture it finished in a month tops.

Some ideas for new furnishings… I think a bookish/ literature themed set would be super cute and vibe well with the game aesthetic. There could be a typewriter desk (or just computer desk) and there could be a book shelf, maybe a cozy reading (or knitting 😉) chair. A science set where there a microscope on the desk would be super cool too. spooky season is coming up as well… maybe a cute Halloween themed room? Christmas/ winter could get some items as well?

Being able to dress up the lil beanie baby would be fun too. Maybe we could give him some cute socks??? Maybe a hat?

There’s also the idea of possibly adding/unlocking a room after you’ve fill the first room. it could be a living room or bed room or given a kitchen, I don’t know. Could be fun tho. I’d start with increasing the amount of furnishings for the current room first tho.

It’s a great app!! Highly recommend to anyone looking for something to help keep you focused. Can let the little dude lose his stitches now can we ;)

I feel like my title really said all that needs to be said. I love it! I love my lil bean friend and decorating his house as an incentive is working surprisingly well? I was hoping I could at least get a few good focus sessions out of it before I got too bored of it, but no, I seriously love it. It’s so cute and functions pretty much exactly how you expect that it would. And the completionist in me really wants to get every single decoration available in the game, which is something that is usually detrimental to me in life, but extremely helpful in this specific situation! Anyways :) highly recommend!

I’m using this to help my daughter break her thumb-sucking habit. Every other technique has been a struggle that ends in failure. With FocusFriendbyHankGreen she actually asks to set ”the Bean timer.” In 2 days she’s gone from constant absent-minded thumb sucking to multiple-hours of proactively resisting the urge.

The reward per minute wasn’t high enough for a preschooler, so I purchased the pro upgrade. The lifetime option made the most sense; if it works for thumb-sucking, it might work for homework over the next couple years, too.

The only drawback is that the cost of decorations might be a little high for our use.

FocusFriendbyHankGreen uses narrative and customization gameplay to help me stay off my phone and focus. Unfortunately, I use it so much that I've finished the room and am on track to have a lot of items I don't want because there's nothing left to buy. I paid for the year subscription and appreciated the transparency of the plans and micro-transactions.

FocusFriendbyHankGreen is helpful but as I fall prey to capitalistic and gamifying urges, I do wish there was more to buy from and customize. No shade on anyone, I just love it so much!! (I told my friend about it and he bought it too!) I'll continue using it even if there are no plans to add more items. (I do see more rooms are being added!)

Because my bean is working on a task, it makes me want to do a task as well. Love the decor and the skins. My only suggestion at the moment is to have various deep focus modes. One where I have my list of apps I can still access, and one that makes me step away completely. Maybe offering incentive of getting more socks/scarves for not touching your phone at all. I’m curious how the items will be updated and more options available, but I’m really enjoying it so far! Oh! And making a widget for iPhone would be great. Just so I remember to set my timer. But I love the simplicity of it. So many productivity apps are overwhelming and trying to do too many things. This is perfect.

Love FocusFriendbyHankGreen. Has such a wonderful design and is very easy to use. Though as a student, I can see myself running out of decorations to earn pretty quickly. I think adding more free rooms, decorations, skins, and maybe even little pets/friends for your bean would be great.
Also I feel the monetization is not too excessive and I hope this model continues in future updates. It’s always annoying when the free version of an app is significantly worse and has a lot less features than the paid version.