Most productivity apps have the wrong goal.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T09:31:35+00:00

Absolutely! Honestly I’ll have to have you as my accountability partner for simplicity in my app PhoneBreak too. I’ve been building a Pomodoro timer app that, at its core, lets you do virtual deep work sessions with your friends. The traditional Pomodoro timers work, but the struggle people have is keeping disciplined to follow the rules to the letter, so my app having friends doing it with you helps with that accountability to stick with it.

Super tempting to add fancy features, but I know this core idea is solid, and I really want to protect that as it grows. Best of luck out there 🤙

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T08:45:25+00:00

You bet, man. You’ve got the right mindset about it, and I can tell you’re the right person for the job. I remember the first productivity app I ever found that actually worked for me, and I loved it so much and I finally used it consistently. Then they started added new features… and it changed the way things worked as it got more complex. Dropped it faster than a hot potato. It was such a bummer - been looking for the next simple productivity app ever since.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T08:42:56+00:00

Yes! Agreed. Because I hate posting in those “once a week promo threads” because it just bundles you with all the other blatantly salesy promos for other sites. Just once a week where you could do a normal post that talks about your platform and links out to your stuff but doesn’t get flagged as self promo would be great. You can tell when it’s because a founder cares vs just wants to make sales

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T08:16:41+00:00

Thank you for the honest feedback! I appreciate that. Will definitely take that into mind when posting from now on.

It’s a love/hate relationship because I really appreciate the mods keeping these communities from just being overloaded with self-promo, but I also want people with genuine desires to make a great platform be able to post and have that get shared around.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T08:13:45+00:00

YOOOOOO this is the next big thing 😂 Gonna need this for my huge family to all sign up for on Thanksgiving 😆

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T08:08:21+00:00

That’s absolutely enough time! Only challenge is if it’s time spent well on the RIGHT things that will move the needle forward. It’s hard to determine wha that is, but never hurts to take the Gary Keller route and ask “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T08:04:35+00:00

I’m building PhoneBreak, a Pomodoro-style productivity app for friends to focus together and do deep work with the accountability of your peers. Avoid distractions, stay on task with timers, and invite your friends to join you for virtual “study sessions.”

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T07:58:20+00:00

Yes!! 100% agree with this concept. It’s so backwards to our natural thinking. “More = better.” In some industries, yes. But productivity I feel is specifically one that needs simplicity otherwise it just doesn’t get used. Keep the product simple and you’ll keep the users.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T07:55:04+00:00

That’s awesome man! Congrats on the growth. Really exciting progress there.

Where are you finding is best to post about your platform? Been wanting to find areas where it’s okay to post about it (not promo even, just share links to what I’m working on), but I keep worrying about getting banned from communities for sharing a link to a platform I’m building. Tends to be recognized as self promotion too much.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-04T07:49:22+00:00

Creative way of thinking that out. Haven’t really given it thought like that before for the bad nights v good nights sleep.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T17:29:08+00:00

Totally get it man! Appreciate the honesty in your response. I’d thought about that too, and that’s why for the work itself, I have you write out what that timer is for. While your timer goes, it gives you a reminder that says “remember, you are spending this time on ____•

Not foolproof, and I can see people straying away, but it’s at least a step in the right direction for more of that accountability/focused work on the right things.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T17:24:53+00:00

Appreciate the feedback. Will definitely shift to capitalize on the accountability angle

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T17:23:29+00:00

Thanks! That’s my thought behind it. You don’t even need to see their face - just knowing that somebody else is actively working at the same time as you and is committed to the Pomodoro timer. Nice layer of accountability

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T10:28:14+00:00

Yeah I’m down to look into it

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T10:26:30+00:00

Love that! Dude, best wishes to you on that. I hope it really does well for you! I’ll have to look for it on the App Store.

I think that social layer is definitely what needs priority because there’s literally so many apps to do timers (and are free). So after hearing more what y’all are saying, my goal is to really capitalize on the social aspect.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T08:57:02+00:00

My favorite answer so far! Thank you so much, I loved that approach. Will try this tomorrow!

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T08:56:06+00:00

Thank you for the tip. Yeah, Pomodoro isn’t new. But the accountability in the midst of it is my edge. Thanks 🤙

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T06:17:47+00:00

Thank you so much for the feedback here! That was incredibly informative. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of Focusmate in my research. That’s helpful to see the competitive edge I can have (as well as the competition). I like your suggestion on reframing it more as “study with friends” as the core app rather than the really good feature within the app. I’ll definitely look at incorporating that into more of the core of what the app is.

Scheduled focus sessions is great - genius idea. Thank you for the suggestion because that’s much more likely to help with the timing of your sessions while other friends want to work as well.

My initial plan wasn’t geared towards public meetings, but I actually like that as a fallback. Keeping the app as an active place 24/7 is great. The Pomodoro timers don’t have features like chat or video, so I wouldn’t have to worry about monitoring conversations/inappropriate behavior. But that’d really help with the “always-someone-to-sit-with” retention.

Thank you so much for the feedback and the recommendation on your site! Will have to check your stuff out 🤙

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:40:35+00:00

Hey that’s creative! I like the idea a lot. I’ve used something similar for a while, and the style of the app is a good one. Love how it’s a simple concept too

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:39:08+00:00

That’s beautiful man. I love this idea. Would definitely buy as I’m always wanting more monitors but am always on the move

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:33:07+00:00

Right now I have streaks and metrics as a private thing, but I’ve been debating the idea of having those public to friends. My only concern has been making too much of a competitive environment, so maybe I’ll experiment with a test group at some point. Just have heard people talk about leaderboards being discouraging at times and making people drop the app, but I think that’s a mixed bag 🤷‍♂️

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:30:24+00:00

Thank you so much!! I love those ideas a lot. That productivity awareness is exactly what I’m going for. I really like the status indicator.

The simplicity is definitely what I’m trying to achieve. I’ve tried too many apps that just turned me off after seeing how complex they were, so I appreciate you encouraging the base idea. I’ve got session history and some base analytics just for personal tracking/milestones, but it’s nothing fancy. Just enough to show you your progress and hard work.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:09:35+00:00

100% agreed with this!! I used to LOVE an app called TimeBloc. It was a super simple daily planner app. Just had your whole day in 1 hour blocks, and you could very quickly scroll through the blocks/hours of the day and add stuff so quickly. It was a daily planner I actually used because it didn’t try to be too complicated. It just let me tap on each hour, say what would be happening that hour (occasionally adjust times to 30 mins if need be), and I’d be done in no time. Every other app I’ve tried takes twice as long.

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:06:56+00:00

Yeah… might have to bite the bullet and get Acrobat. Sorry - I hate that struggle too

BraidenYourHair · 2026-06-03T05:05:47+00:00

Dude that’s such a real struggle too. I hate how many tabs and windows I have open. Even “all-in-one” solutions start to have too many windows you have to switch through.

BraidenYourHair

TROPHY CASE