Focussive

Deep work focus manager that blocks mobile apps and syncs with a Chrome companion to eliminate digital distractions.

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Focussive - The Ultimate Focus assistant

Inspiration

In today's hyper-connected world, distraction is rarely confined to a single screen. We often lock our phones to study or work, only to unconsciously open Twitter, Reddit, or YouTube in a new browser tab seconds later. For neurodivergent individuals and people with ADHD, this constant "screen jumping" creates severe executive dysfunction and ruins flow state.

Most existing blockers either focus exclusively on desktop or mobile, leaving glaring loopholes. We asked ourselves: What if a focus system treated all your devices as one single distraction-free sanctuary?

That vision became Focussive — a unified productivity ecosystem that locks down both your phone and browser during active focus blocks, backed by a frictionless subscription model powered by RevenueCat.

What It Does

Focussive is an all-in-one productivity and behavioral design ecosystem engineered specifically for deep work, neurodivergent focus, and ADHD time management:

  • Synchronized Cross-Device Blocker (Mobile & Chrome): Schedule recurring routines or instant deep work sprints that lock down both your smartphone and desktop browser simultaneously. If you try to open distracting apps or websites, a persistent Android foreground service and the Chrome companion extension immediately intercept your screen across all devices in real time, closing every loophole for mindless browsing.
  • Weekly & Monthly Focus Intelligence: An intuitive analytics dashboard offers bird's-eye visibility into your productivity trends. Users can review daily, weekly, and monthly focus duration graphs, track peak productivity hours, measure session completion rates, and visualize total hours saved from mindless scrolling.
  • Research-Backed ADHD Gamification: For individuals with ADHD, executive dysfunction makes long-term tasks feel unrewarding until an immediate crisis occurs. Clinical research shows that immediate, externalized feedback loops stimulate dopamine production in the prefrontal cortex. Focussive bridges this intention-action gap by turning focus into an engaging, gamified journey with tangible milestones, milestone streaks, and dynamic visual celebration rewards upon completing sessions.

  • Session Rewards & Positive Reinforcement: Every successfully completed focus block awards achievement badges, streak multipliers, and celebration cards that provide the instant dopamine boost needed to build sustainable daily habits rather than relying on sheer willpower.

  • Friction-Based Break Allowance: Built-in rest timers prevent burnout by granting short, scheduled pauses without abandoning the focus block completely- automatically re-locking the environment when the break timer runs out.

- Focussive Pro via RevenueCat: Instant access to unlimited custom blocklists, cross-platform extension syncing, and advanced analytics via monthly or annual plans powered by RevenueCat's secure in-app subscription infrastructure.

How I Built It

Focussive is built as a production-grade monorepo containing mobile, web companion, and backend infrastructure:

1. Mobile Client (React Native & Expo)

  • Framework: React Native with Expo SDK, Expo Router, and TypeScript.
  • Monetization & In-App Purchases: Integrated RevenueCat (react-native-purchases) to manage subscription entitlements, trial periods, and restore purchases seamlessly across Google Play.
  • Native Android Modules: Built native Kotlin modules (expo-modules-core) utilizing Android's PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS, SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW, and FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE to monitor foreground activity and trigger instant blocking overlays without background delays.
  • Fluid UI Architecture: Custom native-driver animations (Animated.event) driving 120Hz continuous text scaling and opacity without crossing the JavaScript bridge.

2. Browser Companion (Chrome Extension)

  • Manifest V3: Built with React, TypeScript, and Vite using @crxjs/vite-plugin.
  • Real-Time Rule Enforcement: Utilizes Chrome declarative declarative and content script hooks to inspect URLs and block distracting domains the millisecond a mobile focus block begins.

3. Backend & Cloud Infrastructure

  • API: Node.js & Express API with TypeScript, hosted on Heroku.
  • Database: Supabase PostgreSQL with custom migration pipelines for promo codes, user sessions, and cross-device pairing tokens.
  • Authentication: Clerk authentication for frictionless login across mobile and extension clients.

Challenges I Faced

  1. Sub-Second Blocker Interception on Android 14+: Android's battery optimization aggressively suspends background services. Implementing a non-intrusive yet instantaneous blocker required configuring an Android 14-compliant FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE service with ongoing notification status updates to ensure the OS never kills the active focus session.

  2. Cross-Device Zero-Friction Pairing: Connecting a browser extension to a mobile account without cumbersome multi-step logins was difficult. We developed a secure pairing protocol using cryptographic short-lived one-time codes and QR code camera scanning, letting users pair in under 5 seconds.

  3. Building a 120fps Physics-Based Wheel Picker: Standard React Native pickers often drop frames or conflict with outer scroll views on Android. We decoupled the gesture responders and offloaded all interpolation math to the native RenderThread using native driver scale and opacity transforms, achieving silky smooth Samsung OneUI-level fluidity.

  4. RevenueCat In-App Purchase Pipeline: Designing a flexible paywall that gracefully handles Google Play store entitlements, fallback plan structures, custom promotion vouchers (e.g. university partner codes), and live subscription cancellation states within a single responsive view.

Accomplishments That I'm Proud Of

  • Complete RevenueCat Integration: A production-ready paywall with localized pricing, annual/monthly packages, trial status handling, and promo redemption.
  • True Multi-Device Harmony: Starting a timer on your smartphone immediately protects your computer browser.
  • Native-Grade Feel: Delivering a fluid, beautiful UI with thoughtful micro-interactions, dark mode, and zero sluggishness.
  • 100% Policy-Compliant: Successfully navigated Google Play's rigorous sensitive permissions declarations (QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES & FOREGROUND_SERVICE_SPECIAL_USE).

What I Learned

  • RevenueCat's Superpowers: How cleanly RevenueCat abstracts the complexity of Google Play Billing, store receipts, entitlement caching, and subscription lifecycle hooks.
  • Deep Android Lifecycle: Mastering Android's modern foreground service constraints, exact alarm scheduling, and package visibility policies.
  • Designing for Focus: Understanding that friction in productivity apps must be intentional — easy to schedule, rewarding to complete, and intentionally difficult to break out of mid-session.

What's Next for Focussive

  • RevenueCat Web Billing: Integrating RevenueCat Web SDK to support direct web subscriptions via Stripe for users discovering Focussive through the Chrome Web Store.
  • macOS & Windows Native Companions: Expanding cross-device blocking beyond the browser to system-level desktop applications.
  • AI Focus Coach: Personalized analytics using past focus history to suggest optimal focus durations and identify peak productivity hours.
  • Social Study Pods: Real-time shared focus rooms where friends or coworkers can work in silence together.
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