I've spent thousands of dollars on productivity apps, courses, and planners. I've even consulted for task manager app companies, helping them build more effective systems.
After years in the productivity world, I realised something that changed everything. They're all the same tools in different packaging.
Every. Single. One.
These apps all want to be the everything tool for everyone. They create endless features, views, and customisation options to capture the widest market possible.
But here's what none of them address: your brain doesn't measure tasks by minutes required. It measures them by mental capacity.
The System That Changed Everything
Years ago, I developed a different approach to managing my work and life – something I call "Focus Modes."
Instead of organizing tasks by arbitrary categories or projects, I started grouping them by the mental state they required:
Park Mode: Mental recovery and recharging – the essential downtime that fuels uptime.
Off-Road Mode: Exploration and learning – when your brain craves new knowledge and creative problem-solving.
Sports Mode: Execution and deep focus – when your brain applies existing knowledge to make meaningful progress.
Eco Mode: Routine tasks – when your brain can handle interruptions without losing momentum.
This simple framework transformed my productivity. Suddenly I was no longer fighting against my brain's natural rhythms. I was working with them.
My mental fatigue vanished. My output improved. The constant feeling of being overwhelmed disappeared.
For the first time, work and life weren't at war with each other. They became integrated parts of the same system – one that respected my brain's biological limits instead of pretending they didn't exist.
The Missing Tool
I looked everywhere for a task manager that would support this way of working. Nothing existed.
What I found instead were tools obsessed with:
Endless categorization options
Different views of the same information
Complex automations and integrations
Fancy UI treatments of fundamentally broken models
Not a single tool addressed the core issue: your brain has limits to how much mental energy it can expend before performance drops dramatically.
I needed something that would:
Match tasks to my current mental capacity
Warn me when I was headed for cognitive overload
Suggest optimal session lengths based on my brain's natural rhythms
Eventually, I realized: if I wanted a system that actually worked with my brain's biology instead of against it, I'd have to build it myself.
Introducing Focus HQ
After years of development and testing, I'm finally ready to share Focus HQ with the world.
Focus HQ is the first task system, daily planner, and mental capacity manager designed specifically around how your brain actually functions.
Unlike other productivity tools that measure tasks by time, Focus HQ helps you:
Plan by Mental Capacity: Organise tasks based on the cognitive effort they require, not just time
Work in Optimised Sessions: Get suggestions for session length and composition based on neuroscience
Prevent Mental Burnout: Receive warnings when you're scheduling more deep focus than your brain can handle
Maintain Sustainable Productivity: Balance high-intensity work with necessary recovery periods
Focus HQ isn't about squeezing more tasks into your day. It's about doing the right tasks at the right time – when your brain is actually capable of performing them effectively.
See How It Works
I've created a 5-minute video showing exactly how Focus HQ transforms chaotic task lists into a brain-friendly productivity system.
