Be Focused Pro - Focus Timer Reviews

by Rowena Columbia

I really gave this timer a chance and had numerous interactions with support that were not successful. One minor issue is getting double notifications when the timer is up, not a big deal, but annoying. More seriously, is WHEN THERE IS NO NOTIFICATION, and I keep working or take too long of a break because I wasn’t notified. I’ve read of LOTS of people having this issue, which makes me think BeFocusedPro has been pumped up with fake reviews. This is the ONE THING BeFocusedPro must do right to be useful, and it can’t do it reliably.

Then, today I got sidelined with some phone calls so I wanted to start my Pom cycle over from the beginning because I was only halfway through when I got the calls. I should have been able to do this by skipping work intervals and breaks until I got to the end of the four intervals. But the “skip interval” option just takes me back to the beginning of the interval and doesn’t allow me to start a whole new 2-hour Pom. So I’m done with BeFocusedPro. A pomodoro timer needs to do a few simple things, not create frustration. I really like the layout, concept, and Apple Watch integration of this one, but it’s just too buggy to be useful.

by Oriongsp

If you are using this as a timer tool it’s great. If you are using it to track what you work on or to ensure you reach a specific number of Pomodoros, you can’t trust it. It repeatedly resets the accomplishments to zero at random points through the day. I brought it to the attention of the developers several months ago and we thought it was a synchronization problem between the iPhone, iPad, watch and widget activation. I switched to only activating from the open app on the phone but I still have the problem. This morning I did two Pomodoros and extended my second break to get ready for the day. When I came back to BeFocusedPro , it reset my to zero. This happens all the time, sometimes setting me to zero other times just setting me back several Pomodoros. I’m better off tracking in the notes app or on a sticky note.

by The Gtra1n

What’s good about BeFocusedPro is how it slices and dices the time you spend on different tasks and presents it to you in graphs. Not just timing but time tracking, that’s good.

What’s driven me in frustration is that it simply will either not produce a sound or produce one at any kind of proper volume. On my iPad Pro, with the system sound turned up to the max and BeFocusedPro sound turned up to the max, sounds turned on in BeFocusedPro and tested in BeFocusedPro , notifications turned on in the system, it simply refuses to produce any notification sound. On my iPhone, in the same situation, the sound volume is so low that it can barely be heard in even very low noise situations.

This is bad—the whole point of notifications is that it should notify you. If you’re okay with constantly looking over and checking the timer, BeFocusedPro is fine, but I’m so frustrated I’m no longer going to use it.

by AshBst

BeFocusedPro is no longer appropriately tracking my intervals. I did 5 intervals today. I tried to pause immediately after an “end of break” notification on my Apple Watch and it showed that I had 18 mins left in a 30 min work block that hadn’t started. I open BeFocusedPro and it confirms the same thing. I look around and see that I have 0 intervals in the graph section, but 5 intervals on the home screen. Everything was correct prior to my break. I’ve relaunched BeFocusedPro and nothing changed. I noticed this happened at the start of my day, but just deleted the rogue interval and didn’t think anything of it, until now. Such an annoying and distracting bug. Please fix. I depend on BeFocusedPro for daily productivity. I’m on the latest iOS, iPhone 13PM.

by Oliver Evensen

I love BeFocusedPro. It’s well priced, $0.99, as of this writing, and it does exactly what I need it to do and I actually love that it’s perfectly in sync with the macOS Desktop Version. My only gripe is that the widget doesn’t work very well. It’s good for viewing the progress of your timer, but pressing the button automatically opens BeFocusedPro , which in my opinion defeats the purpose of the widget. I’d love to see the developers add the option to select my different timers and start them without actually ever opening BeFocusedPro . If they can make this improvement I’ll gladly change my rating to 5 stars.

**Update**
There is also a persistent annoying bug that will sometimes reset my timer when I am switching from one app back to BeFocused. I’m not sure of the cause but it’s frustrating because it throws my stats off.

by RootBear & Lil’ Buddy

I really like BeFocusedPro- and want to give it five stars. But I don’t think it’s quite there yet. I wish you could change/customize the color scheme, but that’s just cosmetic.

What I REALLY think they would include is:

Being able to customize each task with it’s own number of intervals and lengths of time length. You can sort of do that now, but changing it affects all tasks. (This is the only “complaint” that keeps me from giving 5 stars. Everything else would move me from loving it to raving about it.)

Additionally, it would be cool if they incorporated some sort of accountability aspect: did I accomplish my task? Did I reach my goal # of intervals? Those sorts of questions.

Finally, and this is BIG WISH I would love to see one app- any app- that incorporates this kind of timer with other listing methods. I would pay $20 (or more) for a task manager that uses this interface but also changes list layout to look like a Kaban board or an Eisenhower matrix. I use all three- but each one is a different app. I could also see it being a pick and chops thing where you pay for the types of features you want.

by Adhd Writer

This is a great app, and I found it useful enough that I got the Pro version for both my phone and my laptop. The sync between the two isn’t always great, but works well most of the time. With my ADHD it’s great to have the notifications pop up on all my devices to keep me on track when I’m working and on breaks. I really appreciate being able to customize the timers for different kinds of tasks, and easily tracking progress towards a goal. A few additional features could make this my dream app. A big oversight is the lack of native Apple Watch Face complications. Also, for those who hyper focus (like me) it would be great to have the option for “enforced breaks” where the phone or computer screen gets blacked out for the preset break time.

by Journalist And Note Taker

This is an amazing pomodoro app with some room for improvement (see the next paragraph), previous to BeFocusedPro, I’ve tried many others and the issue I had was to backtrack the number of completed “pomodoros” per task (unless you do it manually by yourself, but requires tracking it in yet another place), some apps would track the number of pomodoros per day, but no correlation to a particular task, and this is where Be Focused Pro excels, where you can correlate pomodoros to task, and have a comprehensive report.

Now, to the improvement areas:
- Why no iCloud, Dropbox, etc alternative services Synch options?, certainly having a Synch option through “Xwavesoft” cloud is a nice alternative, but, we as users would appreciate to have other Synch options, especially if we would not feel comfortable creating yet another account in another company’s cloud vs each user managing/choosing their own cloud synch service.

- Any plans to have a Web version of Be Focused Pro?, it would be more of a nice to have feature.

by BearSays

This is an excellent program that has really helped me become a more efficient reader. Simple to use, and straightforward.

One suggestion is that the selection interface on the timer window be changed slightly. I like to start from both the task list pane, and the timer pane. I’m adjusting my workflow to start from the task list pane more often so that I can keep track of time-to-tasks, because when I start on the timer pane it’s very easy to hit the wrong task; it also just doesn’t provide an efficient way to just jump straight to the task you want (unless you start on the task list pane). Trade-offs to keep the timer interface clean, I know. But there may be a way to have both.

Otherwise, I love this!

by Josepheh

This is the best pomodoro-style task timer I have found. I really like being able to connect my phone and MacBook. It lets me get up during a break working on the computer, and take my reminder alarm along with me, or sometimes I don't wNt my computer neSr me at all. Some things I'd like to see fixed: sometimes the phone and computer get unhitched from each other, and I have to log out of BeFocusedPro and back in on the phone to get them synced again. Also I'd like if I could have different settings on the phone and the computer. For example, I would prefer to having the ticking sound on one or the other but not both. But those are details that don't stop BeFocusedPro from being very helpful. I stay on task better, and get more done, when I use it.

by MLE2468

I do like how much I get done using BeFocusedPro. As a full time mom, it helps push me to do those menial tasks I dread. I do wish I had the option to change the work time for each activity, because I spend longer on some tasks than others.
Also, I wish there was an option to set times automatically for things I want to do each day at the same time, like exercising. It would give me that extra push is there was a notification saying "in 5 minutes it's time to exercise". That would get my keester off of IG in the mornings.
Overall though, it's a good start and I'll continue to use it. Hope to see some updates soon though!

by Ivananp

I use BeFocusedPro almost everyday when I’m studying, doing chores, or other tasks to help keep me on track and motivated. It never fails and I love that you can create different timers depending on what your doing. My only complaint is that sometimes I will press the skip button on my rest timer by accident and I wish there was a button that would ask me if I would like to proceed before it just disappears. They have that same feature when you try to skip a work session so I hope one day they can apply it to the rest session as well.

But all in all 10/10, I’ve been using BeFocusedPro for years and I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon!

by Lindseyap888

Been using BeFocusedPro for years, it’s one of the best pomodoro timers out there. It’s got a very simple interface and no unnecessary fluff so you can just sit down and press go and get on with what you have to do without fiddling with a ton of settings.
The only thing I wish it had is a widget and complication for the Apple Watch. There is an app for the watch but I like to keep an eye on the timer and the screen goes back to the watch face after a minute or two, and then it’s a pain to bring up BeFocusedPro again when I want to check it. Other than that, it’s perfect and it always works as it should!

by SuzieXoh

I got the pro bundle because I liked the focus timer pro a lot. I don’t see how the focus matrix integrates with the timer, however. I want to time activities according to the focus matrix. My goal is to time my activities but not have all of them count as equal pomodoros. For example, if I time habits or routines I want to either reduce or reinforce, they can count towards the pomodoros for the day according to the order of priority allotted in the focus matrix.

I don’t know how to translate these goals into a form readable by focus timer and matrix, in other words. The description here says there’s integration with Focus Matrix but I don’t see how this works. I keep getting prompted to upgrade even though I bought the pro.

by Otgirl

I love BeFocusedPro. It allows you to select daily pomodoro targets, keep track of different task categories, and even customize the length of breaks. Awesome! The only feature I wish BeFocusedPro had was the ability to adjust the number of pomodoro units depending on the task. For example, my pomodoro daily target for test prep might be 7, but my daily target for meditation is only 1 to 2. Currently, there doesn't seem to be a way to assign different pomodoro targets to different tasks, and pomodoro units completed in one task category will appear in all categories. But, these points don't diminish BeFocusedPro's value to me at all. The pomodoro method is amazing, and BeFocusedPro has made it so easy to get a lot more done. Thank you, BeFocused!

by ThirdEffingNameChoice

I just started using BeFocusedPro. I find it very helpful for staying on task and for encouraging myself to take care of large tasks in small pieces, instead of waiting for a big chunk of time that never materializes. Whittling away by a Pomodoro or two at a time is much less intimidating than facing a week or a month on one gigantic project. It also encourages me to take regular, short breaks that do not derail my progress. I like the word pro on the badge because it helped me discern the free version I originally downloaded from the paid version. I agree with the people who prefer to use the phone version in order to conserve computer resources.
UPDATE: l've had BeFocusedPro for a while now. It's one of my favorites. It does exactly the description says it. And when I use it, my days are far more productive and far more peaceful. I hope the developer continues to update this excellent app so it's always current with the latest operating system.

by Drumr98

As long as you use it, it works amazingly for staying on task if you not only procrastinate but have ADHD. It’s also good for those of us with limited work loads due to physical disabilities. I can only do physical labor of any kind for 15 minute intervals, then I have to rest at least 15 minutes. With Be Focused Pro, I never overdo it.

The fact you can categorize each task is also helpful for staying on top of the recurring tasks on your to-do list.

It’s a great tool to have on hand, I really appreciate this ridiculously affordable yet simple app.

by Lovetolaughaha

This is a great tomato timer. Simple, ready-to-go settings if you don’t want anything complicated, but you can also save multiple personalized settings for different activities. Plus it logs all the intervals that you complete and shows you charts and graphs of what you’ve completed over time!

More specifically on personalization — Writing = 25min intervals w/ 5min break, with longer break after 4 intervals… You can change each of those numbers and save those settings. So for example my writing timer cycle is different than my responding to email timer cycle.

by Mattdolphin.com

The pomodoro concept really helps me stay on track with tasks. I’ve tried many. I started with the free version of BeFocusedPro and liked it so much that I decided to upgrade for task tracking and use across devices. It works as expected.

There is one minor thing that the free version does better: BeFocusedPro icon. I know it’s super picky, but that yellow corner on the paid version annoys me. I wish the icon on the paid version was exactly like the free version. It’s a much cleaner looking, better design. If you need to differentiate your free and paid app visually, the free one should have the yellow corner. Just my opinion. Otherwise, an excellent app!

by Captain Skully

I use BeFocusedPro daily with the pomodoro technique. It is excellent. One issue I have is that the alarms stopped sounding after the timer ends. I do not know why because the volume is turned up and the setting is turned on. I hear individual ticks of the clock, as expected. But the alarms stopped sounding. Aside from this issue, it is an excellent app. There is a good amount of customization within it. You can pair it with your Mac desktop as well. The Mac desktop app is good, too!
UPDATE: Must turn ringer off and boost volume to hear on Bluetooth. Developer helped me resolve.

by OllyRand

I love BeFocusedPro, I use it daily! Time management is my Achilles heel, so being able to visually see the time winding down has been really nice. My favorite feature is probably the minute increment alerts that sound like ticks, they’re super helpful for keeping me on track if I’m listening to anything with headphones and away from my phone. It’s really nice because I don’t have to be using my phone to still get the time-minding reminders I need. Finally BeFocusedPro has been a game changer for me with intimidating tasks. Setting a timer has been a great way for me to break through that initial anxiety and just get started. Breaking down tasks into manageable parts with BeFocusedPro has helped me be both more efficient and effective, so I would suggest it to anyone who could use some help with time management! I used to be embarrassed to use a timer for this purpose because all the reviews made it seem like it was just for kids, but let me tell you I think that ANYONE would benefit from BeFocusedPro if they would like to manage their time more effectively. Definitely worth the money in my opinion ☺️

by Dush Fernando

It would be nice if clicking “start” from the widget starts the timer instead of taking us to BeFocusedPro and start the timer which is slow and sometimes it doesn’t start or most of the time it doesn’t show the countdown but if we pressed start again then it will start running and stop the timer few seconds after we exit BeFocusedPro .

A couple of times I exited BeFocusedPro after seeing the timer running after the second press within BeFocusedPro which caused it to stop the timer and miss my countdown.

Also the Lock Screen widget on iOS 18, goes blank after the countdown starts.