By Carolyn Heneghan
Does having complete focus on a single task for any length of time seem completely foreign and unattainable to you? How about for 100 minutes—without any distractions?
focus@will, a new app launched last December, claims to have the solution for helping you tune out these distractions and to be able to focus more fully on the task at hand. On average, most people tend to concentrate for about 20 to 30 minutes before reaching for a snack, clicking the Facebook tab, overhearing conversations, or just staring into space. With this carefully crafted set of compositions, focus@will has reportedly increased focus for up to 100 minutes at a time for two out of three people who have tried their free app.
Think Pandora or Spotify but even more thoroughly researched and geared for concentration and productivity rather than entertainment. While this service was built for anybody, there are a few groups of people who might find it particularly useful:
- Students with chapters of reading, looming exams and papers to write
- Writers trying to knock out a few chapters of their novel
- Journalists facing mounting deadlines
- Lawyers sifting through stacks of paperwork
- Coders with a massive project
- Readers trying to get through a new book
- Anyone with a number of mundane tasks to do, whether in the office, at home or otherwise
As for how it works, focus@will plays music tracks arranged in specific sequences that scientifically soothe your limbic system, which is your brain’s fight or flight survival mechanism that is normally in constant interrupt mode. The ambient music’s soothing capabilities makes it easier to concentrate more fully on whatever you are trying to do.
The team at focus@will recommends that you begin the music as soon as you begin your task, whether it is reading, writing, a computer project or the like, at a level that is louder than background noises but quieter than music you would listen to for entertainment. The sequence is specifically designed to help you get in the zone and stay there by playing certain music tracks every 20 minutes, when your brain typically begins to lose focus. After five phases, or 100 minutes, they then recommend you take a break for a snack, drink of water, walk, etc. as that is about the time when your brain will wear out and need a break as well.
The song choice and order are based on characteristics such as musical key, speed, intensity, arrangement, emotional values, recording style, and more. These characteristics determine which songs will be played where and when. Genres include classical, jazz, cinematic, ambient, up tempo, acoustical, “focus spa” and “alpha chill.” These musical features together will create a 100-minute playlist that allows your brain to focus amidst distractions such as, “danger, food, sex or shiny things.”
The song order is designed to flow seamlessly from track to track so you play the music and soon forget that there are changing tracks in the background. If a track change does jolt you and your subconscious out of concentration, there is a skip button that tells the program not to play that song again, similar to Pandora’s genome feature.
To create this highly functional app, the team behind focus@will spent two years researching productivity in-depth while working closely with 200 alpha participants. They also commissioned a Bowker market research project that reached out to more than 72,000 respondents. They continue to run trials with their psychology team at UCLA, where they are based.
What is also remarkable about this app is that it is produced by a hybrid music/tech company that combines a San Francisco-based software engineering team with a Los Angeles-based music label. The two work together to create the science and musicality behind this artificially brilliant app, designed to deliver you the perfect productivity experience.
The app is free and available in its beta version via web browsers, but it will soon be available as Android and iOS apps. It is currently only available in the U.S. but they plan to expand internationally in the near future. Eventually there will be a paid option with, currently secret, additional “must-have” features.
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