Earlier this week, a bean moved into my phone. Their name is Billie Bean King, and when I’m working, they work too, knitting socks and scarves. Billie’s knitted wares are more than just cozy clothes — they’re currency, used to buy lo-fi decorations for their barren room. But there’s a catch: Billie can only work when I’m not using my phone. That’s where the fun begins.
Billie is a bean from the Focus Friend app, launched last month for iOS and Android by Hank Green of assorted internet fame. The app is branded as an ADHD-friendly timer that helps gamify users’ attention, which quickly skyrocketed in app store rankings after the brothers Green started promoting the game. For a few days this week, Focus Friend was the No. 1 app in the iOS App Store in the US. (Disclosure: Green will be guest hosting our podcast Decoder in September.)
Focus Friend follows a basic premise: the more time a user spends in “focus mode,” a set time during which they cannot use their phone, the more their bean generates in-app currency. If the user cancels focus mode before the timer ends, the bean loses their progress and forfeits any socks and scarves made in the session. This also makes the bean very sad, and making the bean sad feels terrible. Users then exchange knitted garments for beautifully illustrated furniture and decorations, building their bean a cozy home. This makes the bean very happy, and making the bean happy feels good!
As it turns out, helping furnish a virtual bean’s lo-fi room is exactly what I needed
I’ve struggled with focus and attention for most of my life — I liken it to living with the constant hum of static. When an activity isn’t engaging, the static climbs to a roar, and I struggle to focus. But when something catches my attention, the static dissipates and I can think clearly. Phones offer plenty of unhelpful static-reducing activities I’ve tried to avoid. But even after deleting every scrollable social platform and word-guessing game, a new unproductive salve always appears. To counter this, I’ve tried numerous methods to train and strengthen my attention, including Pomodoro timers, focus modes, screen time limits, and general time trackers. Yet the static persists.
As it turns out, helping furnish a virtual bean’s lo-fi room is exactly what I needed. Over the last week, Billie Bean King and I have been on an absolute grindset. We’ve been locking in for half an hour and hourlong chunks of work: Billie knitting while I clack away on a keyboard. The longer I work, the more Billie can produce, and the better the decorations I can buy for their space. (I’m saving up for the gorgeous plant-covered furniture in the Greenhouse set.) The gamified nature of the app has helped quiet the static and improve my focus. I’m motivated to work because I want to unlock the best decorations for Billie’s home, and, like a Tamagotchi, I want to care for them.
I’ve found Focus Friend most helpful for boosting my workday productivity, so I only let Billie knit between 9 to 5. A cartoon bean is my new full-time coworker. By limiting my focus time to the workday, I can already see the signs of my attention and productivity increasing. Now, not only am I aware of what I can accomplish in 30 minutes, I’m getting more done since I have access to fewer distractions. But Focus Friend doesn’t have to be about working more: Green says he uses the app to watch movies without the urge to pick up his phone. Focus Friend has the potential to make any activity more intentional.
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On iOS, Focus Friend’s app-level restrictions can be customized by purchasing the app’s Pro plan, starting at $1.99 a month, which allows users to edit accessible apps during focus time. I purchased Pro so I could use my phone’s calculator, but it’s easy to see how this mode could be abused. It also helps that the subscription enables faster sock production and adds the ability to craft scarves, a Pro-exclusive currency required to buy the best-looking decorations. Scarves accumulate slowly, which balances out increased sock production. The bean economy is complex! I felt it was a worthwhile upgrade, and there’s a lifetime license for users who want to avoid recurring fees. Custom bean costumes are also available to buy.
It feels like the start of a long friendship.
There’s plenty of room for Focus Friend to grow. It would be great to set focus schedules and routines, like a classic Pomodoro technique. I’ve often found myself deep in work, thinking I’d set Billie to focus, only to find out I hadn’t and I’d done an hour of work for nothing. Not even one sock! I’d also love to see my overall focus stats — Billie and I focused a lot this week, and it’d be great to see a day-to-day breakdown. But what I most hope for is more rooms and more decorations, which Green says are coming. Billie needs a kitchen! And a garden! A big sofa for friends!
Of course, Billie’s residence in my phone is still new. Plenty of past efforts to strengthen my focus have started strong and succumbed to the static. But Focus Friend feels different, with a visible reward for my focus in addition to the feel-good mentality of having worked hard. I’m motivated to get back to my work more often now, knowing it gets me closer to a cute plant or some string lights for Billie’s home. Writing this article got me close to a window that looks out into space! It feels like the start of a long friendship.
