Topic 4 lists · 20 apps

Focus

Timers and blockers for getting one thing done.

The lists

• 6 apps for studying on an iPadNotability · Focus Train · Quizlet · Photomath · 3Things Pal · Merriam-Webster
• 5 apps for teaching yourself somethingBrilliant · Focus Train · AnkiMobile Flashcards · Goodnotes · Habitica
• 5 apps for what Screen Time won't fixone sec · Focus Train · Blank Spaces · ATracker · Instapaper
• 7 apps for the first week backClass Timetable · Focus Train · Cape · Roots · BlockSite · Brainscape · Dark Noise

Every focus app on these lists

20 apps in total. Each line is what that app does differently from the others here — the reason it made a list rather than being a second copy of something already on it.

• 3Things PalPick the three things to get done today; the list clears every night.
• AnkiMobile FlashcardsAnkiMobile is the mobile companion to Anki, the free open-source spaced-repetition program, written by its lead developer. Paid once, priced like desktop software, with free sync to the computer version. Beware the look-alikes with Anki in the name.
• ATrackerATracker starts and stops a log for anything in one tap, phone or not. Pie and bar charts then show where the hours actually went.
• Blank SpacesBlank Spaces is a minimal widget that takes over the home screen: a short list of the apps you meant to open, and no grid of icons to fall into.
• BlockSiteBlockSite blocks websites and apps, free, with a scheduler for the hours you want kept clear and a password lock so you cannot casually undo it.
• BrainscapeBrainscape has you rate how well you knew each card from 1 to 5, and the ones you rated low come back sooner. Build them from your own notes or a PDF.
• BrilliantBrilliant teaches math, coding, data and physics as problems you work through with a tutor that sees where you are stuck and can sketch on your screen. Built for understanding rather than memorising formulas.
• CapeRather than hard-blocking, Cape pauses an app once you hit your limit and gives it back later. Built for people who struggle with attention or ADHD.
• Class TimetableClass Timetable draws your week of classes as coloured blocks, with homework attached to each one and a home screen widget for whatever is next.
• Dark NoiseDark Noise carries 50+ ambient sounds you can layer into custom mixes, with Shortcuts integration so one tap or your voice starts the one you want.
• Focus TrainA study session becomes a train ride; look away and it just waits.
• GoodnotesGoodnotes holds handwritten notes and marked-up PDFs — the textbook, the worked problems — plus a mind map on an infinite canvas, and AI that summarises what you have captured.
• HabiticaHabitica turns the daily practice into a retro RPG: check the session off in real life and your avatar earns gold and experience. Parties let you team up with friends for accountability and fight foes by completing tasks.
• InstapaperInstapaper saves the articles you keep meaning to read, stripped of clutter and readable offline. A saved list runs out. A feed does not.
• Merriam-WebsterThe dictionary and thesaurus, offline, plus a word of the day.
• NotabilityHandwrite notes, mark up PDFs and slides, and record the lecture.
• one secone sec puts a few seconds of friction in front of a distracting app: breathe, then say whether you still want it. It delays instead of blocking.
• PhotomathScan a math problem and get the steps, explained one at a time.
• QuizletTurns any material into flashcards, practice tests and study guides.
• RootsRoots gives you app limits, scheduled downtime and a daily balance score, plus a one-tap Block Now for the moment you decide you are done scrolling.