App Idea: An ADHD Focus App That Builds Motivation, Not Just Blocks
A focus app that replaces willpower-dependent blocking with a reward-and-goal system tied to the user's personal 'why'.
How on earth am i supposed to stay focused?!
I'm working on something SUPER important that LITTERALLY could change my life, but my damn brain keeps automatically going to my bookmarks and clicking . I've been trying for about 10 months (I've had to start over due to me getting smarter and realizing i was stupid and writing it in the wrong format, stuff like that) I have a blocker to block entertainment websites and games and stuff and i dont bypass it that much but sometimes i do. That's not my issue. I will find anything to do thats not a very popular video site, like even Neal.fun for some reason. And i don't want to just put more blockers on more things because i always can remove it, I want to learn how to WANT to do this. I want to learn how I can realise "Wow! If i just stay focused on this for X amount of hours per day, I can have this! Maybe even that super rare guitar pedal i want!" But instead my brains like "🤔 Hmmm, me want money & guitar stuff, me find other ways to get money instead of doing what smart brain wants!" (Read that in a caveman voice) Anyways, I wish i thought of asking sooner because i've been struggling with this for a long time. I will be forever grateful for ANY help. Thank you so much. Okay so this is probably my sixth time trying to post this on various communities, and not a SINGLE one has gotten a comment, and that's not including all the times it got taken down for no reason. I just need some good advice or like tricks to make your brain want to do boring things. Also I was trying to post this on r/adhd first so therefore i have adhd.
The problem, in the searcher’s words
I have ADHD and I'm working on something that could actually change my life, but my brain keeps pulling me to bookmarks, random sites, even boring ones like Neal.fun, instead of the important thing. I already have a blocker for the obvious entertainment/game sites and I don't even bypass it that much, but that's not the real issue.
The real issue is I don't want more blockers, because I can always just turn them off myself. What I actually need is to WANT to do the boring important task, not be forced into it. I want my brain to go 'if I focus on this for X hours, I get the thing I actually want' instead of scrambling for any other way to feel good right now.
I've been stuck on this for 10 months, restarted the project multiple times, and posted this question in several communities without traction. Looking for real tricks or systems to make yourself want to do boring, high-stakes work, not just another app that locks you out of Twitter.
What the thread shows
The thread shows a recurring, multi-month struggle with self-directed focus that existing blockers (BlockSite, Cold Turkey) don't fully solve because the user can simply disable them, and commenters corroborate the pattern with their own reward-based workarounds rather than pointing to a single tool that fixes it.
“my damn brain keeps automatically going to my bookmarks and clicking”
“I don't want to just put more blockers on more things because i always can remove it, I want to learn how to WANT to do this.”
“The best way to prevent something is to not want to even bypass it”
“I started using pomodoro for 20-30min bouts. When complete I'd "reward" myself with some random online time (yes, I call it ROT).”
Target customer
Who
People with ADHD or chronic procrastination who already use website/app blockers but keep disabling them or drifting to other distractions.
Context
When working solo on a high-stakes personal project (side business, creative goal) where the blocker is up but motivation, not access, is the actual bottleneck.
What to build
- Goal-linked session setup where user states their reward/motivation (e.g. 'save for guitar pedal')
- Short forced-start timer (5-10 min) that escalates session length over time
- Reward unlock system: earn free browsing/entertainment time after completed focus blocks
- Distraction capture notepad to log urges instead of acting on them
- Optional hard-block layer for entertainment sites during active sessions
Build note — Could integrate with existing blockers (Cold Turkey, BlockSite) via extension/API instead of rebuilding blocking tech; the differentiator is the motivation/reward layer, not the block mechanism itself.
Later, if it lands
Who’s already out there
Browser/app extension that blocks distracting websites and apps.
Gap: User can disable the extension at will, so it only works if motivation is already present, which is the exact problem OP has.
Stricter blocking software with harder-to-bypass locks (including timed, uneditable blocks).
Gap: Addresses bypass-resistance but still only blocks access; it doesn't build the internal 'want to do it' motivation OP is asking for.
Mentioned by a commenter as a tool that helped their ADHD/procrastination and task completion.
Gap: Unclear from the thread what it actually does or whether it addresses motivation vs. blocking; feature set unverified.
Demand read
The pain is persistent (10 months, multiple restarts, repeated attempts to get advice across communities) and corroborated by at least one other self-described 'varsity-level procrastinator,' but the thread contains no statements about paying for a tool, so willingness to pay is unproven.
Worth digging into before you build
7 to considerNo idea is a sure thing at this stage — these are open questions worth checking yourself, not a verdict against building it.
Generic Idea
Focus/website-blocker apps for ADHD and procrastination are a saturated category; differentiation is unclear.
Already Solved
Commenters point to existing blockers (BlockSite, Cold Turkey) as adequate for the blocking piece; OP's remaining problem is motivational, not access-based.
Not Software Solvable
OP explicitly frames the core issue as wanting to want to do the task ('The best way to prevent something is to not want to even bypass it'), which is a motivational/psychological issue software can support but not directly fix.
Weak Demand
No statements in the thread about paying for a tool or naming a paid solution with pricing; willingness_to_pay_signals is empty.
Verify Competitors
WorkMode-net is named once by a single commenter with no detail on its actual feature set; confirm it's a real, relevant product before publishing.
Sensitive Domain
Thread centers on ADHD/mental health and self-described struggle; recommend editorial review before publishing.
Quotes Need Scrub
The keberch quote includes 'bullshit' - check tone/profanity policy before publishing verbatim.