AI Focus and ADHD

For the detour you don’t notice until it’s an hour long.

Many people with ADHD know exactly what they meant to do. The trouble is the moment between one tab and the next, when something more interesting wins without asking. AI Focus keeps your goal in the room for you, and steps in when the screen stops matching it.

See AI Focus plans

First hour free in the Mac app, no card · Then from $9.92/mo, billed yearly · macOS 14+ · 18+

The real AI Focus card, in a staged demonstration. AI judgments can vary.

How it works

One sentence of setup. Then the dragon keeps watch.

  1. Step 1

    Tell it your task

    Type what you’re working on, like “algebra homework”, and start the block. Or schedule it for later.

  2. Step 2

    It watches your screen

    At a random moment every 10 to 20 seconds it takes a quick look, only while the block runs.

  3. Step 3

    It blocks distractions

    Off task twice in a row, and that app or site closes for a few minutes. The card tells you why.

Same internet, judged by your goal

The goal decides. Not the website.

Write the methods section of my report

Fits the goal

  • Your report document
  • Journal articles you’re citing
  • A reference manager
  • A thesaurus

Off task

  • A video essay on something else
  • Reddit threads off the topic
  • A shopping cart
  • Messages that turned into a chat

Illustrative examples. Every check is a yes or no against your own words, and AI can make mistakes.

External structure, in the moment it’s needed.

Plenty of focus advice assumes the hard part is deciding what to do. For a lot of people with ADHD, deciding is the easy part. Staying with it, through the boring middle, is where the day goes. Reminders and timers help you start; they don’t notice when you’ve slipped away twenty minutes in.

AI Focus does the noticing. During a block it looks at your screen every 10 to 20 seconds and asks whether it still matches the goal you typed. If it doesn’t, twice in a row, it closes that app or browser and keeps it closed for a short cooldown. You don’t have to catch yourself. The block catches you.

No list to keep up with.

A block list only knows the distractions you thought of. Novelty is good at finding the ones you didn’t: a new site, an app you forgot you had, a game in a browser tab. With AI Focus there’s nothing to maintain. You write one sentence about the task, and anything that clearly isn’t that task counts as off task.

It also leaves room for the messy way real work happens. Looking something up, checking a reference or watching a relevant explanation can all fit the goal. The more specific the goal, the better the dragon can tell research from a rabbit hole.

Firm, short and never shaming.

Cooldowns start at two minutes and never go past ten, and everything ends when the block does. The card that appears says what was closed and why, in a calm sentence, and when a browser’s cooldown ends FocusDragon offers your tabs back without the one that was closed. The point is a quick reset, not a punishment.

If you know you’ll be tempted to cancel, schedule the block instead: weekdays 9 to 11, say, so it starts by itself when the time comes. You can also run FocusDragon’s regular blocks alongside it, with locks that hold even if you quit the app.

A tool, not a treatment.

AI Focus is a distraction-management tool for adults 18 and over. It isn’t a medical product, it doesn’t diagnose or treat ADHD, and it can’t replace support that works for you. AI can also make mistakes and closing an app can lose unsaved work, so save before you start.

Your first hour is free in the Mac app, with no card. If it helps, the AI Focus plan includes everything in Pro, and approved students can apply for discounted annual pricing.

When it acts

Short cooldowns that grow.

  1. Strike 12 min
  2. Strike 22 min
  3. Strike 35 min
  4. Strike 4+10 min
  • Browser tabs are saved first and offered back when the cooldown ends, without the one that was closed.
  • Reopen it early and it closes again. Finder, System Settings and macOS itself are never quit.
  • Everything ends with the block. Strikes carry over only if you start another within 2 hours.

Privacy

Judged, not stored.

  • Screenshots pass through FocusDragon's own server, which never stores them, then go to an AI model provider under a zero-data-retention agreement. They're never used to train any model.
  • Only during a block you start or schedule. A glow round the screen shows whenever it’s watching.
  • A check is skipped while a password field is focused.
  • The two screenshots behind each closing stay on your Mac for 7 days so you can see why, then they’re deleted.
Read exactly what’s captured

Compared

Why a list alone often isn’t enough

Block lists ask you to predict every distraction in advance. Novelty is very good at being unpredictable.

QuestionAI FocusA block list alone
The new rabbit holeJudged against your goalOpen until you list it
Noticing you’ve driftedThe dragon notices for youUp to you
Getting back on trackClosed, with a short cooldownUp to you
Research that looks like a detourAllowed if it fits the goalOften blocked with the site
Setup effortOne sentence per blockAn ever-growing list

FocusDragon includes both. The core website and app blocker is free; see how its blocks hold.

Plans

Start with an hour on us.

Your first hour of AI Focus is free in the Mac app, no card needed. Every plan has the same features and includes everything in Pro while you’re subscribed.

AI Focus

$9.92/mo

Billed yearly at $119, or $12.99 monthly.

About 70 full-speed hours a month on one display.

AI Focus Max

$19.92/mo

Billed yearly at $239, or $24.99 monthly.

About 171 full-speed hours a month on one display.

Student

$4.83/mo

Billed yearly at $58. Same features and allowance as AI Focus.

Needs student verification and approval.

Hours are estimates for one display; screen setup and usage affect them. Checks slow down, never stop, once the allowance is used. A 7-day trial is also available for eligible accounts, card required, renewing unless cancelled. Full pricing and terms.

FAQ

Questions, answered plainly.

Is AI Focus good for ADHD?

AI Focus is designed for the problem many people with ADHD describe: drifting off task without noticing. It checks your screen against your goal and closes the distraction for a few minutes. It isn’t a medical product and doesn’t treat ADHD; whether it helps you is something to try for yourself, starting with the free hour.

How is this different from FocusDragon’s regular blocker?

The regular blocker blocks the sites and apps you list, and it’s free. AI Focus judges your screen against your goal, so it also catches distractions you never listed and leaves useful pages open. Many people use both.

Will it shame me when I get distracted?

No. The card says what was closed and why in one calm sentence, cooldowns are between 2 and 10 minutes, and everything ends when the block ends.

Can I schedule AI Focus so I don’t have to remember?

Yes. Schedule a block to repeat on chosen weekdays or run on specific dates, and FocusDragon starts it by itself when the time comes.

More detail in the AI Focus help pages. Closing an app or browser can lose unsaved work, so save before a block.

Keep reading

AI Focus for MacBlock the distraction you didn’t think to block.AI website blockerA website blocker that knows what you’re working on.How AI Focus worksA clear goal. A screen check. A reason to return.Study with AI FocusOpen the lecture. Finish the revision.Deep work on MacGive your next hour one job.YouTube and your focusThe tutorial is useful. The next ten videos aren’t.

The next block can end differently.

Choose the task. Type the goal. Give the dragon a job.

Free first hour, no card · AI Focus from $9.92/mo, billed yearly · macOS 14+ · 18+