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Kultur Dokumente
May 2018
https://focusme.com
Welcome to FocusMe!
Hi,
Thank you for using FocusMe. Our goal is to help you to get more productive and be in charge of
your computer even when your willpower is limited.
Overcoming old habits is hard. We know that from experience. That’s why we created FocusMe.
We are working hard to make FocusMe a premium product and constantly develop and improve our
software every month.
FocusMe is not another program that you install on your PC once and then forget.
Especially if you’re struggling to stay away from distracting websites, you know how HARD it gets
to stick to your commitment.
Why else would you need a website blocker when there are free browser extensions available?
Because using extensions is not enough for people like us who are easily distracted.
That’s why we built a solution that keeps you away from your cravings, even if you get creative and
start to look for a way around your initial intentions!!!
Truth be told: It’s impossible for a developer to think of all the solutions to get around a blocking
software in advance.
But even if you find a way around FocusMe, (which is already really difficult), FocusMe is built in
a way that is completely customizable.
If you find a way around it, we will help you to adjust your settings and guarantee that your short-
term workaround will not work in the future.
If you have any problem, don’t hesitate to contact our support at https://focusme.com/support/
Please take your time to read this documentation to make sure you get the most out of FocusMe.
Stay productive!
Jon R.
FocusMe Founder
www.linkedin.com/in/jon-focusme
Table of Contents
5. Ensure you tick the checkbox next to FocusMe, then close the Security & Privacy window.
6. Finally either restart your computer or restart FocusMe by choosing Exit from the icon (top right of screen),
then launch again from Applications folder.
7. Don’t forget if you are using Firefox browser on macOS then you also need to install our addon
Installation (Windows)
1. We have tried to make installing FocusMe very easy. Use an administrator account to start the
FocusMeSetup.exe which we emailed you the link to. This will start the install wizard:
Note: if you do not have an administrator account, please use the non-admin version which we sent you the
link for.
4. The installation process should then be complete and FocusMe will start (see the next section)
Activation
To activate FocusMe you can choose from three methods:
1. Trial
2. Registered
3. Offline Activation
Trial
1. To begin your 14 day trial, just enter your email address that you used to get the download link and click Start
Trial:
2. FocusMe should start and you can skip to the ‘Using FocusMe Section’.
Registered
1. If you have already purchased a license, click Registered and enter your email address and license key and
then click Activate:
2. FocusMe should start and you can skip to the ‘Using FocusMe Section’.
Offline Activation
In case options 1 or 2 do not work due to connectivity problems to our activation server, you can use Offline
Activation:
2. Then click ‘Copy device ID’. Your device ID will be copied to the clipboard.
3. Use our form https://focusme.com/support/ to request an offline activation code. If you have purchased it
would be a good idea to include your serial number.
4. We will send you back a special ‘offline activation code’. Paste this into the ‘Your license’ box and click
Activate:
Using FocusMe
Focus Plans Overview
You can create one or more Focus Plans in FocusMe. A Focus Plan consists of the following:
Tip: When multiple plans are started, they are all in effect. If you have a plan running which blocks All Websites or All
Applications, it will win over any other plan which blocks individual websites/apps.
Sample Focus Plans
FocusMe comes included with some example plans, to delete the ones you don’t need, just right-click / command-click
on one and choose Delete Plan:
Create a Focus Plan
1. Click the Add plan button
2. Give a name to your plan and choose whether you want it to display notifications or a timer, then click Next:
3. Choose either Block All Websites or Block Selected Sites. The Blacklist will only appear when you choose
Block Selected Sites. The Whitelist is always available.
4. If you chose Block Selected Sites, select the Blacklist tab, then click the Add button:
5. In the Adding window within the History tab, select the websites you wish to include in the list, then click
Accept.
6. Alternatively on the Custom tab you can type or paste in a list of websites, then click Accept.
Note: there is no need to include the protocol i.e. https:// or the www. prefix.
7. Your Blacklist should then be ready:
9. In the Adding window, select the sites in the History tab, or enter them into the Custom tab:
Note: this example plan will allow Gmail composing via the URL mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?view=cm but
block reading email on mail.google.com
11. RegEx means Regular Expressions and is an advanced feature. For example you could add a value such as:
\b(sex|porn)\b
The \b part means it should only block the whole keywords in the URL/title and not words such as
‘pornography’ or ‘sexy’.
12. Click Next to continue on to the Applications page. On the Applications page, choose either Block All Apps or
Block Selected Apps. The Blacklist will only appear when you choose Block Selected Apps. The Whitelist is
always available.
13. If you chose Block Selected Apps, select the Blacklist tab, then click the Add button:
14. In the Adding window you can choose from the below:
Processes – A list of all running Application processes.
Installed – A list of installed Applications that appear on your Windows Start menu.
Windows – A list of Applications that are open and have a visible Window now.
Custom – For entering custom Application targets.
Note: To fine-tune the time periods, click on a time block to select it (it will turn grey), then click the start
and end time to edit them manually:
Weekly – A repeating schedule every week, with an optional end date. Select each day you want to edit,
then click Set schedule. It is possible to have different schedules set on different days.
Pomodoro – The plan will repeatedly run for the number of times you choose. There will be a break in
between each run. This technique is known as the Pomodoro method and commonly uses a 25 minute
focus session followed by a 5 minute break, repeated 4 times:
21. The final page of the Wizard is for Protection. Here you can set a Password to stop the plan, and whether to
allow Pausing:
Warning: Please be extremely careful with the Forced option, as once the plan is started it not be possible to
stop it early. We recommend only using this option after you are an experienced FocusMe user.
Password to stop, while plan active means when a plan is in effect due to a schedule block
Password to stop, while plan inactive is for when a plan is inactive due to being outside a scheduled block, or
in-between Pomodoro sessions.
22. If you enable Pausing, you will also be able to set the Pause limit and Pause length:
23. Click Done and you should see your plan created and ready to use:
Enabling, Disabling and Pausing Plans
1. To Enable your plan, click the green Play icon:
2. If it’s a quick focus plan, you will see a confirmation screen where you can adjust the time, click Start:
3. The play icon will turn to a red Stop icon when show the plan is running:
4. Click on the Stop icon to stop the plan. If you enabled a password to stop, you will be prompted for it:
5. If Pausing was enabled, click the Pause/Stop icon and choose Pause from the menu.
Tip: you can also point to the Protection icon to see how many Pauses are left and how much pause time is
remaining.
9. To Stop or Resume the plan, click the Status icon and choose Stop or Resume
Edit a Focus Plan
1. Click the gear next to a Focus Plan and this will start the Focus Plan Wizard
Tip: you can also double click anywhere on the plan to go straight to the corresponding page of the wizard.
2. You can close the wizard window at any time to skip the remaining pages in the wizard!
FocusMe Helper
This feature is useful to see what Application or Website is currently in use, so that you know how to block it.
(If you don’t see this, click the small arrow first to show more icons)
3. You will then see an on top info window with detailed information about the currently active application /
website.
4. To turn Helper off, just close the Helper window or right click on the FocusMe tray icon, and deselect Helper:
Exit FocusMe
1. Before Exiting FocusMe, ensure that all Focus Plans are disabled.
(If you don’t see this, click the small arrow first to show more icons)
Extend Time
This will display a window where you can extend the length of your plan, if you are on a roll!
Clone Plan
This will make a copy of the plan.
Show / Hide Notifications
Enable or disable the notifications for this plan.
Application Statistics
This view shows you how much time you are spending on applications on your PC:
To exclude an item or clear it from history, click on the gear next to it and you will see a menu:
Breaks
Taking a break is essential to higher productivity, energy, concentration, efficiency, creativity, and just about every
other good thing that you need to be productive.
Productivity experts recommend to take a break at least every 50-90 minutes. The problem is we often tend to forget
taking a break and sitting in front of the PC for hours. That’s not only bad for our health but also destroys our
productivity.
That’s why taking breaks is an essential part of FocusMe. So important that we built in several options:
Scheduled Breaks (e.g. block access to my computer from 12pm-1pm Monday-Friday and 10pm-6am on
weekends)
Auto-breaks (e.g. after 30 minutes continuous activity, take a break)
Forced Breaks (whether you can cancel the break or not)
Take a Break now (you can choose for how long)
The breaks feature works independently of plans. During the break you will see a message covering your screen. If you
enable the forced breaks option, you won't be able to cancel the break.
Scheduled Breaks
Scheduled breaks happen as set times (for example to block computer use during the evening)
1. Toggle the Breaks Disabled button to Enabled (this is a global setting affecting all breaks).
3. If you chose Weekly, click each day to show its timeline. Days with a break set will show in blue:
4. Use the timeline to select the blocks that you want to enable a scheduled break:
5. To fine-tune the time periods, click on a time block to select it (it will turn grey), then click the start and end time
to edit them manually:
Auto Breaks
We recommend to enable Auto-breaks. Auto-breaks happen after you have used your computer for the 'break every'
period - say a 5 minute break every hour.
1. Toggle the Breaks Disabled button to Enabled (this is a global setting affecting all breaks).
Forced Breaks
This means you will not be allowed to cancel any breaks.
Break Now
1. To take an immediate break, click the Break now button at the bottom of the screen:
2. Then choose how long the break should be and chick the accept button:
Settings
The settings tab allows you to configure global settings for FocusMe:
General Settings
Start at logon
Whether or not FocusMe will start when you logon to your computer (e.g. after a restart).
Start Minimized
When enabled FocusMe will start up hidden. You can click the tray icon to show it.
Block Settings
Start at logon
Whether FocusMe starts for the current user, all users, or none at all.
Block Terminal
This block the 'terminal' aka command prompt which could also be used to cheat.
Protect Clear History
Prevents the activity history being cleared while a plan is running.
Protect Uninstall
If you try to uninstall FocusMe you'll see a message: "Uninstall protection is enabled in FocusMe settings. This means
you cannot uninstall while plans are enabled."
Notifications
Normal/Low notify threshold
This simply separates the Normal time and Low time notifications. If this will be set to 15 minutes for example, then
the normal notification will appear above 15 minutes and the low time notification will appear below 15 minutes.
4. Drag the FocusMe from your applications folder into your trash.
Uninstall FocusMe (Windows)
1. Ensure that all Focus Plans are stopped and breaks have been disabled.
(If you don’t see this, click the small arrow first to show more icons)
To support Vivaldi you have to run vivaldi.exe with the below parameters:
vivaldi.exe --force-renderer-accessibility