Focus on one thing

Time a stretch of work, take breaks on a rhythm you choose, and log the work as focus blocks.

In short

Focus mode times a stretch of work on one thing. When you finish, the time is saved in the Time tracker when it is on for you, otherwise as a focus block on your day that points at what you worked on.

Before you start

• Who: anyone with Planner on. A focus block is yours alone.
• Plan: Planner is part of every plan, Free included. Your plan caps the open items, calendars and cycles a workspace holds (Plan & usage shows them). Focus mode runs the Time tracker's timer, so the time is recorded once.
• First: nothing. Press "Focus" in the title row or F.

Steps

1. Press "Focus" in the title row, choose "Focus on this" in a row's … menu, or press F.
2. Pick what you are working on - something overdue, due today or this week - or start without a target.
3. Under "Breaks", choose No breaks, 25 + 5 min or 50 + 10 min, then press "Start". Planner remembers your choice. The timer counts up and shows when the next break is due.
4. When a break is due, take it or press "Skip the break"; press "Break now" to take one earlier. After the break, press "Back to work".
5. Press "Pause" and "Resume" as needed, and "Finish" when you are done.

Good to know

• Less than a minute logs nothing.
• With breaks on, each stretch of work between breaks is saved as its own focus block; the breaks are not logged.
• Closing the dialog while the timer runs asks first, in the same dialog: "Keep focusing", "Leave it running" or "Stop and save" when the Time tracker times it, otherwise "Keep focusing", "Discard" or "Log it".
• A focus block is yours alone; it has no other people.

Related

• /help/planner/schedule-your-day
• /help/planner/my-day
• /help/time-tracker/track-your-time