Hi PH, Taylor from Focusmate here. Working solo can be liberating, but it is also hard. I’ve been working from home for 7 years, and let’s just say it’s been a long and winding journey 🙃 The big change for me happened when I started working with an accountability partner, remotely over video, to ensure I showed up, chose the right thing to work on, and stayed on task. It may sound weird or extreme, but it worked insanely well. The problem was, we needed more people! So, we built Focusmate—a community of solo workers who have committed to holding one another accountable for finishing their most important work. With Focusmate, you can find an accountability buddy to work with at any time, anywhere, on demand. We’d love for you to give it a try and share your feedback. Also: 😱 How can we reduce the initial fear or hurdle of trying Focusmate? ❤ Are there specific people/groups you’d like to work with on Focusmate? Thanks so much!!

I like to describe Focusmate as, "Chatroulette for work (without all the nasty bits)." I've used the product for quite a while and found it to be a great way to fight distraction by holding myself accountable to another person. I love the product and team and I'm honored they let me invest in the company.

Focusmate is such a weird product, in a good way. I've tried it before and know a lot of others use it to build social accountability. Curious how you see the product evolving over the next few years, @taylor_jacobson.

I procrastinate so much and this seems like a good solution to force me to get started and not get distracted BUT it's kinda weird. I wanna do it but at the same time I'm like "video call with a stranger where we're mostly silent? Yeah..... Riiiight...." 😅

Looks good! So is there any initial get-to-know-each-other chit chat? Is the audio on, or is it just video?

Similar to working out with a trainer, the hardest part is showing up – once you're there, you don't waste time and you always work harder than you would have if you were on your own.

Pros:

Forget every other accountability habit / hack / app, this one straight up works.

Cons:

I'd love to be able to do Pomodoro sprints within Focusmate and set daily / weekly goals for myself.

I wish I had Focusmate when I was working by myself on my own startup (that failed so I'm back at the office).

I was one of the earliest users of Focusmate and have been passionately sharing it with friends and colleagues since. It helps you get immediately into the zone of productivity via the incredibly simple solution of having a partner, live and present, working alongside you. Try it once. If you don’t like it, fine. If it helps you, even better. Why not try something that potentially offers (free) massively improved productivity? Kudos to Taylor and team for building this.

Pros:

Works like magic. Bizarrely effective if you use it.

Cons:

You have to use it for it to work.

WOW!!!! this is exactly i need.

Awesome, definitely gonna try it on executing my next project😄

Superb concept and product, fits very well with trends of the modernizing, remote workforce

Hmmm I guess this is good for people who slack at home...? Other side note is it might create special rendezvous... I mean you get to meet soo many other lonely I mean solitary people. I guess this system would work if a boss forces employees to use this system as a means to improve productivity or oversight in a way.

Focusmate is the way that the next generation of teams will get stuff done, especially when they're remote!

Pros:

Easy and fun to use

Cons:

Growing network

I stumbled onto Focusmate when I was working on a book project last year and my writing partner went out of town. It's been a huge help! I wouldn't have the manuscript finished if not for Focusmate!

I've been using Focusmate the past few months to complete tasks that I find "boring, but necessary," which for a procrastinator like me is a long list 😉. Focusmate is the definition of a product that sounds strange in theory, but is amazing in practice. It has had direct, measurable impact on my quality of life and I can't imagine getting work done without it anymore.

Neat product but I can't help but think that you might be working on the wrong thing if you really need this, especially if it's a side project. Your side project should be so exciting to you that you can't wait to work on it. You shouldn't need somebody hovering over you telling you to get back to work. And if this is for your main job, you might need to find a new job or new position. Am I alone in thinking this?

One of my favorite productivity tools of the last few years!

Pros:

Easy and super effective way of committing to get stuff done for remote work, side projects, and anything else that could use a nudge.

Cons:

Have to adjust to get in the habit of incorporating it as part of your project planning.

I love this service and use it regularly. It's kind of a quirky idea but give it a try at least once then it'll click.

Couldn't help but notice that your website needs >10s to load with a 3.5MB bundle somewhere in between. That's at least for the landing page a no go. ;-)

Focusmate is awesome, weird (at first), and it totally works. Once you get that first session under your belt things just click and you really feel the power of social accountability in action. Sharing my tasks with my partner compels me to stick to my plan and it is pleasantly surprising how well that small act works for me. That light social pressure really helps avoid the unlimited distractions my brain can sometimes try to throw my way. My wife is also a user and logged over 100 sessions studying for and passing her nurse practitioner boards. Focusmate was the reason she was able to show up and study well ahead of time when she didn't really HAVE to do it yet. Anti-procrastination at its finest.