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Session
p/session-1Start your momentum by focusing in 25-minute sessions
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Philip Young

Session - Pomodoro timer w/ distraction blocking, journal & analytics

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Catalina and iOS 13.3++ only!
Start your momentum by focusing in 25-minutes session!
Session help you be more focused by blocking distracting website and more mindful by tracking your progress.
Your progress is shown in analytics for you to review!

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Alex
Would be way better without a subscription
Philip Young
Maker
@alexegiyan I agree. Just like you, I dislike subscription. But it's proven that one time purchase is not sustainable. I want to keep Session to be maintained. Not launch it and leave it. Without maintenance, app could break and crash on OS update. It's a bad experience to both developer and user. I've addressed it on https://www.stayinsession.com/ FAQ if you want to read more.
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@alexegiyan I fully agree. First, yeah, it's yet another subscription. Secondly, insanely expensive: a pomodoro timer for 30$/year or 48$/year if paying month-to-month.
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@philipyoungg Philip, how about simply releasing a new major version every year and charging only for that. The issue is simply that for 30$/year I would expect A LOT of development, regular new features, regular updates, bug fixes, implementation of user-requested features, etc. — which I'm pretty sure will not happen in this case. So I'm not sure why would anyone pay so much for such a limited functionality. Again, no offence or anything. This is my view as a third-party/user.
Philip Young
Maker
@new_user_0faf7c8f54 Hey Anonymous—thanks for the feedback! I understand and will probably adjust the pricing depending situation. So far, about 25% of registered user happily paid monthly and yearly. So Session definitely deliver a value for those user. I'm not sure reducing price is the right strategy based on data. But again, price drop (or increase) are still possible in the future. 1. First of all, you don't need to pay anything to use the Pomodoro timer. It's free for everyone. While looks simple, I spent a lot of time making it with the best UX I could possibly made. And it's constantly improving as I listened to user feedback. 2. The paid version has Pro feature. And not everyone needs the pro feature. That's an important distinction. 3. As for development—there's a lot. I have not yet released public roadmap. But if timed, probably I will spend the next 2 years working on it full time and it's still not yet be "finished". Things like Calendar integration, tagging / project support, etc is in development. $30/y is relative. Some perceive it expensive, other fair, and the other feels it's cheap. It depends whether it's useful or not for you. One user use Session religiously and subscribe for a full year (after 14 days trial in the past) because it helps him to track how long he's working, document what he's working on, and review back those notes when he was in a meeting to remember what he has done. It also serve as a proof to his manager that he deserve a raise / promotion. Session, for him, is valuable. It helps him avoid overworking, reflect back days when he got many distraction (and the "why" from notes), and giving him enough context on problem he worked on few days ago so he doesn't need to think about it from scratch. If you're OK, I would love to chat with you and learn about your workflow more! Hit me up on t.me/stayinsession or philip@stayinsession.com The fact that you "care" enough to send a message here makes me happy! It means you feel that it could potentially provide value for you but still not sure if it's worth it :)
Philip Young
Maker
Hello Product Hunt! I'm excited to release Session—a pomodoro timer app (work in 25-minutes chunk) with analytics. Here's my thought process on why I made Session: * I used pomodoro technique for over the past 5 years * the offerings on the market are solid, but missing one thing: a way for me to reflect back and analyze where my time went by. Based on that, I decided to made Session. Here are some "features" that I decided to implement: * Every session has to have an intent. User have to write what they're working on before timer could start. * Before timer starts, user will be prompted to breathe in and out once. * Timer starts. Time to focus! * Timer ends. Session will ask you what you have learned on this Session and whether you're distracted. It's optional. User can skip it. * Later at the end of the day, you can analyze your progress. Here's some benefit that I found while using Session: * With providing intent, I worked with less distraction. * If I ended up distracted, the reflection prompt at the end of Session gives me time to reflect. Instead of wasting hours meandering around, it'll be limited to 25 minutes max. * I realize I didn't work as much as I expected to be. About 2-3 hours in, I'm exhausted. With that knowledge, I plan a long break after about 2 hours to re-energize my work Session later. The app works fully on freemium. Pro features are sync between devices, dark mode, custom interval, and full analytics access. It syncs between iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Creating an account for now gives you 7 days free of Pro feature. Would love to know your honest thoughts!
Swyx
amazing that this syncs between platforms! that is a killer pro feature. well done and congrats on launching! i will try this out.
Philip Young
Maker
@swyx Thank you Shawn 😍
Natalie Marleny
I love Session. Logging activities and creating a visualisation of how a day has been spent is very natural. The overhead and admin required feels minimal, but at the end of the day I have a rich amount of data on what I've learnt and progressed on. The integration between the mac app and the iPhone app works really well. I appreciate the visual and beautiful timer on the iPhone app - it disincentivizes me to pick up my phone when I'm reading a book or programming, and creates a visual cue on how much time left I've committed to concentrate for. Finally, details matter - I love the little sounds this app makes, and the visual prompt to take a breath before starting on a new session. Highly recommend.
Philip Young
Maker
@nataliemarleny thank you Natalie 😭 you're one of the main reason that keep me going!
francisco gonzalez
the combination of time tracker and pomodoro is awesome but also the little features like "taking a breath" before starting a session and writing what did you learn after a session are really valuable for me.
Philip Young
Maker
@frago12 thanks Francisco! You' been here since day one. I appreciate it.
Pawel Lubiarz
I really would like to try it out but if i can see correctly, there is no android version?
Philip Young
Maker
@pawellubiarz unfortunately no Pawel—right now I'm focused on Apple ecosystem first. If things goes well, Android and Windows are on the horizon :)
Pawel Lubiarz
@philipyoungg Wish you all the best then! :)
Philip Young
Maker
@pawellubiarz thank you Pawel!
David Bonilla
The best Pomodoro App I have ever seen... and I have seen A LOT :)
Alex Unt
Finally, I'll find out how much good time I spent on Reddit. Congratulations on the launch!
Philip Young
Maker
@alex_u2 Hahaha! Give me a good chuckle 😉. Thank you!
Carlos Liverani
Congrats on the launch! I'm a fan of the reflection prompt at the end of the of session incase one gets distracted. However, I feel like there's value left on the table in terms of categorizing and analyzing the emotions behind the distraction over time. I've used various pomodoro apps, but haven't found one that tracks the underlying causes of distraction. Depending on the task I've discovered different reoccurring emotions: Fear that the task is outside my comfort zone, the task is boring, I enjoy the adrenaline high of waiting until the last minute deadline, thinking that the task can be done any other day from a lack of deadline, and many more. As a user, I'd love to be able to create custom categories for these feelings and simply select them on a swift picker to accompany my text journal entry.
Philip Young
Maker
@loslivs I hear you. In few days, I will launch the mood system for reflection prompt. https://twitter.com/philipyoungg... Anyway, can you give me a chat? I would love to hear your thoughts and made Session better Carlos! I can be reached on t.me/stayinsession
Murphy Randle
Used it today and I'm loving it. But only on Mac. I can't seem to find it on the app store if I search "Session". Any tips?
Murphy Randle
Ah I searched "session pomodoro" and found it.
Philip Young
Maker
@murphyrandle thanks Murphy! Let me know if you have any questions :)
bormahine
Cool app. Do you have any tips for using apps to manage your time?
Lance Scadden
Hi Philip, I subscribed to the pro version, how do you activate dark mode on the iphone?
Philip Young
Maker
@lancescadden1 Thanks Lance! It's currently based on your phone system (dark mode / light mode). I'll put it on settings on next update (in few days!) Let me know if you have any other questions.
Kaushik Murali
Interesting UI. Will definitely try it out. Thank you for creating this!
Philip Young
Maker
@kaushik_murali1 thank you Kaushik!
Amine Lahrichi
Super cool! Thank you :)
Philip Young
Maker
@amine_lahrichi your welcome!
Teo Decu
Hey @philipyoungg ! Congrats on launching Session — one comment after downloading the Mac app: Unfortunately, the interface is barely usable when using Dark Mode (both text and background are light gray / white. Is this something already on your radar?
Philip Young
Maker
@decu Thank you Teo! 1. Can you check on System Preferences > General > Appearance > Accent Color whether it's graphite (black)? If yes, change it to other color and see if the issue still exists. Or are you in BigSur? Both happens because of bug from macOS. 2. I would love to make it a one-time fee—but it's really proven unsustainable. Syncing need server—it needs to run 24/7 and not free. Ideally I want to make it one-time purchase with free update for a year. But that's not currently possible on Mac / iOS ecosystem.
Asnim P Ansari
How exactly Pro and free version differ?
Philip Young
Maker
@asnim_p_ansari1 it's available on here https://www.stayinsession.com/pr... Basically full analytics access, sync between devices, backup on cloud, dark mode, etc. Otherwise, the Pomodoro timer part is free :)
Vlad Nekrutenko
cool! does it provide analytics for the time spent on different activities?
Philip Young
Maker
@vlad_nekrutenko I've considered adding tagging & project, but afraid that I'll become a chore for user because it needs upkeep ("ah, I forgot to add tagging", "what was the tag for project X again?", etc). I do want to add it in the future. Still researching a good UX that have minimal annoyances.
Shane Hudson
I was a beta tester for this product, I've not yet used in anger due to a lot of my work being on Windows at the moment but for a beta version of a product I was incredibly impressed with the quality!
Philip Young
Maker
@shanehudson thank you Shane :)
Eric Anderson
This is a great product and Philip is an awesome human. If you're looking for a focus timer to help you do calm, focused work, this is it! Nice work Philip!! 🚀🚀🚀
Philip Young
Maker
@theericanderson Danke Eric 😭
Sofia Sedano
Really good idea! Will make sure to try it :)
Philip Young
Maker
@sofia_sedano Please do Sofia :)