This will only make sense to 10 people, but I am a HabitRPG OG, before it became Habitica. The team even asked me to write an updated post about them after the name switch and larger launch, as I had written about them before.
But that's neither here nor there. The point is that I like [[Organization & Productivity|productivity]] gamification because I have [[ADHD]] and I like games and I need techniques that help me do what I want and need to do. HabitRPG was really good for me in this regard, but I eventually kind of just...fell off of it, for a couple of reasons. The first is that checklists don't really help me get things done. Even tying those checklists to a funny EXP bar doesn't help *that* much, because I never had a problem with writing the things I need to do down. It was focusing long enough to get them *done*. Technically HabitRPG is supposed to help with this, because you're meant to be encouraged to do things to get EXP. But my brain is simply too dumb for that. Sorry!
Recently though, I found an app that's very similar to HabitRPG, but seems to work the way I do a lot more. It's called Focumon!
It's kind of wild I stumbled upon Focumon because it only very recently became available, but I'm already really enjoying it. It's basically a Pomodoro timer crossed with a creature collector. When you start you put your name down and pick from a bunch of Gen 1 inspired Pokémon Trainer designs. Then you pick a starter "focumon" and get goin'.
![[Focumon is Pretty Cool-20240316173345497.png]]
The flow of Focumon goes like this: you pick a 'mon to join your training center. Then you click a button to start focusing. Rather than a Pomodoro specifically, Focusmon goes by the Third Time Protocol. With Third Time, you work for as long or as short as you like until you want or need to take a break. Then you break for 1/3d of the time you just worked. So if you work for 15 minutes, you could stop for 5 minutes. After an hour meeting, you can take a 20 minute break. I like this method because it's pretty flexible for how much work you can get done in a particular moment.
As you focus and break, your focumon and trainer get EXP and level up! You also get materials and bonuses depending on the type your training center becomes that day, which is randomly determined every 8 hours. So if you get a ghost training center, you'll get double exp training ghost focumon, as one example.
![[Focumon is Pretty Cool-20240316173042791.png]]
You can also put todos in, and completing those todos get you Quest XP. You can even make different "Quest Books," which are basically different projects in another piece of todo software. You're also able to set alarms. And if you get interrupted, you can log exceptions to modify your session and keep it accurate.
You can also party with friends! When you do this, you get more bonuses, and can cheer your friends on in their tasks or keep each other accountable, similar to HabitRPG.
![[Focumon is Pretty Cool-20240316174038389.png]]
That's pretty much it! The developer, known as Milton, is actively building new features pretty much daily, which is wild. Focumon battles are coming, as well as a legit app - although it works just fine as a PWA and has notifications if you set a timer or finish a break. Everything in the app is free, with a pro-pass that I frankly think is a little too pricey for what it's worth - but I haven't used it for very long either, so maybe I'll see the appeal later. Regardless, no features are actively locked out by not using the Pro Pass - FOR NOW! [[Enshittification]] is an ever looming threat, we know this.
[Anyways check it out if that sounds cool! It's very cute :)](https://www.focumon.com/)