Focusmate feels like a magic trick for my brain

I have been trying out Focusmate - a web app that matches you with another person for a virtual coworking call - and it is helping me get a lot more done.

Moving to Paris

My partner and I are now living in Paris! As of 18 May 2024, we’ve now been here for about two weeks.

I have left my full-time job at the Information Access Group in Melbourne, Australia. So I’ve been adjusting to managing my own time, currently split between job search (currently looking for a full stack engineer role!), French language learning and side projects.

It has been a difficult transition in some ways - I’ve felt a slump in motivation. But in the last couple of days I’ve been trying something out which has been helping a lot - the web app Focusmate.

What is Focusmate?

Focusmate is a web app for virtual coworking - it matches you with another person for a 25 minute video call. At the start of the video call, you say what you are working on this session, then at the end of the session, you say how you went.

During the call, I put my mic on mute, and put the other person’s video in ‘picture-in-picture’ mode in the top right corner of my screen.

It sounds a bit strange to have a video call with a random stranger, but in the ~25 sessions I’ve had so far, everyone has been really nice and encouraging. It feels like a nice little community of likeminded people, who are using the app to help them get stuff done. People are studying for exams, writing press releases, making website wireframes.

I’m surprised how well Focusmate is working for me. Right now, it feels like a magic trick for my brain to click into ‘doing’ mode.

If you struggle with procrastination, or sometimes have a hard time following through on the things that you need or want to do, I would strongly recommend giving it a try.

How and why does it work?

I’m not entirely sure why Focusmate works so well for me, but here are a few ideas off the top of my head. It will be interesting to see if these ideas change over time.

• It feels like Focusmate is helping my brain switch into a more active ‘doing’ mode where I can focus on one thing at a time, whereas before, if I was working on something that I’m not excited about, I would end up scrolling on social media. When I’m in a Focusmate session, I feel like I am staying on track for longer.
• For me personally, impressing other people is a big motivator for me. I want to impress the other person at the end of the session when I tell them how I went. I don’t want to let them down.
• Because you need to tell the other person what you’re working on at the start of the session, it forces you to clarify your task, at least enough to be able to describe it. It also forces you to pick one thing.
• Because the session is only 25 minutes, thinking about what you can get done in 25 minutes, it forces you to break a big task down into smaller, more achievable chunks.
• I think working with a total stranger can be a good thing, because all you know about the person is what they are doing for the next 25 mins, and that’s all they know about you. I think this helps the sessions feel light.

Let’s see how long this feeling lasts

Right now, I’m feeling really excited about how much I can get done with Focusmate. It feels like more is possible than before.

However, I have been excited about other productivity systems in the past! So I don’t expect this feeling to stay the same forever.

My motivation comes and goes in waves, so it will be interesting to see how Focusmate works for me when the motivation is ebbing.

I’m making a reminder for myself in a months’ time (18 June 2024) to add an update to this post.

Give it a try

I don’t think Focusmate is for everyone. Everyone has different things that motivate them. If you don’t struggle with motivation or procrastination, then you probably don’t need to try it.

But from my experience, procrastination is a difficult thing to talk about - it might be something you struggle with but no-one else knows. For example, if you work in a hybrid environment, then you might feel less productive working at home than when you work in the office.

If you ever struggle with these issues, I would strongly recommend giving Focusmate a try. You can do 3 sessions per week for free, or pay US$10 per month for unlimited sessions. It is a bit cheaper if you pay annually.

You can use my referral link here to get one month of unlimited sessions for free.

I’m keen to hear what you think. You can email me at larryhudson@hey.com.

Update after a couple of months

It’s now Wednesday 24 July 2024 - a couple of months after I wrote this post. It took me a while to get around to writing this update.

In the last month or so, I haven’t been using Focusmate as much as I did when it was new to me. The novelty factor has worn off, so it takes more effort for me to book in sessions now.

However, on the days where I use Focusmate, I feel more productive and focused. It’s easier for me to make progress on the things that I need to do, and stay ‘on the rails’, versus when I am just motivating myself.

The challenge for me now is to have the discipline to reach for Focusmate and use it consistently. The difficult thing is, when I need Focusmate the most (when I am feeling unproductive), is when my brain is not reaching for it. So I need to work on that.