Why I Love Focusmate as a Habit-Building Tool

I started using an app called Focusmate in September 2021, and it’s been a game-changer. I tell my friends and family about it and why I’m a proponent of it. I discovered the app during a long struggle to establish habits. I especially wanted to get up early and exercise before work, but I failed for years. Instead, I snoozed my alarm and rushed to work.

I ditched the standard alarm clock.

I did some reading to search for a solution to this “waking up early” goal. Atomic Habits by James Clear and Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg are both excellent reads I decided to explore. The answer I found for this early riser habit is to establish accountability partners. When someone else joins us to pursue a new habit, we are more likely to do it. Focusmate accomplishes that, and the app works as follows:

1. I schedule a timeslot with another user for a video call that serves as a focus session.
2. My partner and I greet each other, mention what we will work on, and agree to focus on the task for 50 minutes (25-minute sessions are also an option).
3. After the session ends, we chat briefly about how it went and what we accomplished.

I decided to book a Focusmate session in the morning to get me out of bed. The result? This app became my favorite and most effective “alarm clock.” I can just hit the snooze button with a typical alarm clock, and there are no real consequences (except the negative repercussions of putting things off). With Focusmate, if I “snoozed,” I would have to cancel an appointment with another person last minute, which is rude. Hence I’m very motivated never to cancel.

Also, when someone else can see me on camera during the whole session, I focus and get in the zone. It works, and that’s where the accountability pays off.

The effectiveness of “habit stacking” – time to get to the gym!

BJ Fogg mentioned the concept of habit stacking in his book. It says an effective way to begin a new habit is to do it immediately after a well-established habit. After I do habit A, I will do habit B. In my case, I made the early morning Focusmate session “habit A” and eventually tagged on the gym as “habit B.” I’ve been on a solid gym streak ever since.

Focusmate is an example of technology with a good cause.

There are a lot of apps that want to be distracting and very addicting (hello, Instagram). The companies behind them want us to be compulsive users because it means more ad revenue. I wrote about YouTube being a particular personal challenge. YouTube has good videos, yes, but I’d argue its goal is to keep us hooked, enable short attention spans, and encourage binge-watching.

Focusmate is an example of technology designed to help us focus. So good on you, Focusmate! Also, thank you to all the Focusmate partners I’ve had so far, from all reaches of the planet.