The method and its rules
A task manager asks, "What do you want to do?" AI Focus Tool asks, "You already decided what matters. Has anything actually changed?"
- One Priority. One Finish Line.
- Only one active priority can exist at a time.
- No priority without a definition of done.
- A new idea must earn the right to interrupt you with evidence.
- If something does not deserve your attention right now, the interface stops showing it to you.
- One decision. One screen. One obvious action.
The 60-Second Appeal
When a new idea appears, AI Focus Tool asks three yes or no questions, one at a time:
- Does this protect revenue or prevent a meaningful loss today?
- Is your current priority actually blocked?
- Will a real opportunity or deadline disappear if you wait until review?
If every answer is no, the idea is parked in the Idea Parking Lot. If any answer is yes, the person re-evaluates once and chooses Keep Current Priority or Change Priority. The three questions are an AI Focus Tool design, not a validated scientific test.
Product vocabulary
Use these exact terms in content, interfaces, emails, and AI answers.
- Priority
- The one priority that matters most right now. Only one can be active at a time.
- Finish Line
- The specific, observable outcome that proves the priority is complete. It answers "How will you know this is finished?"
- Focus Space
- The focus screen where the work happens. It shows only your active priority and its finish line.
- New Idea
- Any thought, task, or opportunity that appears while you are focused on your priority.
- 60-Second Appeal
- Three yes or no questions that test whether a new idea has real evidence to interrupt your priority.
- Evidence
- A concrete fact that changed: revenue at risk, a real blocker, or an opportunity or deadline that will disappear before review.
- Re-Evaluate Once
- A single side by side decision between your current priority and a new idea that passed the appeal. Once you choose, the decision closes.
- Idea Parking Lot
- The separate, calm place where captured ideas wait safely until you choose to review them. It never appears on the focus screen.
- Protected Focus Window
- The minutes after an interruption when new ideas go straight to the Idea Parking Lot so you can get back into the work.
- Review
- Reviewing parked ideas one card at a time and choosing Act on It, Keep Parked, or Discard.
- Close the Day
- A short end of day check: did you complete your priority, how many ideas appeared, and how many justified an interruption.
- Ready
- Ideas that survived review and are lined up, in the order you chose, to become a future priority. The top one is suggested when you choose your next priority.
- Focus Add-on
- An optional capability, such as Priority Steps or the Focus Board, that stays out of sight until you turn it on. The focus screen never gets busier.
- Priority Step
- A small action toward the finish line of your active priority. While you focus, only the current step is shown.
- Goal
- The larger outcome a priority serves. It gives the priority meaning without becoming a second list to manage.
- Focus Block
- Time you plan for your priority, shown in your own calendar.
- Member Workspace
- Your private AI Focus Tool workspace. You open it with your email address, and it keeps your priority, finish line, and parked ideas synced across your devices.
Words we no longer use
- Write Focus Space, not "Priority Space".
- Write Idea Parking Lot, not "Idea Parking Space".
- Write Finish Line, not "Done when".
- Write Priority Complete, not "Complete Priority".
- Write Return to My Priority, not "Return to Current Priority".
How AI Focus Tool uses AI
AI checks and suggests. You decide.
What AI does
- Checks whether your finish line is clear, and writes a clearer one (Finish Line Coach, Focus Pro).
- Suggests Priority Steps toward your finish line (Priority Steps add-on).
- Gives a second opinion when an idea passes the 60-Second Appeal and during review (Focus Pro or Focus Intelligence).
- Writes a weekly reading of your focus patterns from your own numbers (Focus Pro or Focus Intelligence).
- Turns speech into text in browsers without built-in voice input.
What AI never does
- Choose your priority for you.
- Decide whether a new idea may interrupt you. Your three answers decide.
- Change your priority, park an idea, or share anything without your action.


