1. Choose one priority and write a finish line
Everything starts with two questions. First: what is the one priority that matters most right now? Second: how will you know it is finished? Both answers are required. AI Focus Tool will not start a priority without a finish line, because a vague priority invites endless work and easy switching.
How to choose your one priority
Pick the work that would hurt most to leave unfinished today. When you are not sure, check these in order:
- Money at risk: work that protects revenue or prevents a meaningful loss.
- Promises to people: something a customer, client, or teammate is waiting on.
- Real deadlines: a date that will not move, and what must be done to meet it.
- Blockers for others: work that other people cannot start until you finish it.
Common mistakes: choosing a theme instead of a piece of work ("marketing"), joining several things with "and," choosing the most exciting task instead of the most important one, or choosing something so big it cannot reach a finish line this week. If your priority feels too big to start, write the first finish line you can reach, or break it into steps with Priority Steps.
How to write a finish line
A good finish line describes something another person could check. It names what will be completed, delivered, published, decided, or sent. It does not describe effort or time.
| Priority | Weak finish line | Clear finish line |
|---|---|---|
| Finish the homepage | Work on it for a while | The homepage is live with final copy, a working signup button, and no unfinished sections on mobile. |
| Client A proposal | Make good progress | The proposal is proofread, exported as a PDF, and sent to Client A. |
| Hiring decision | Think about the candidates | One candidate is chosen and the offer email is sent. |
| Quarterly report | Get it mostly done | All 4 sections are written, charts are updated, and the report is shared with the team. |
| Launch the pricing page | Push the launch forward | The new pricing page is live, checkout works end to end, and the launch email is scheduled. |
| This week's newsletter | Write some content | The newsletter is written, proofread, and scheduled to send on Thursday at 9 AM. |
| Client B logo revisions | Keep working on the logos | Three revised logo options are exported and sent to Client B with a feedback deadline. |
When a finish line is weak, AI Focus Tool says so right away and asks what will actually be completed, delivered, published, decided, or sent. If you want help, it suggests a sharper version using only the details you gave it. You can accept the suggestion, edit it, or keep your own wording.
See the research behind each step, with every source linked.
Copy this template when you are stuck:
My priority is finished when [the deliverable] is [completed, sent, published, or live], and [the quality condition that proves it is done].
2. Focus on a screen that shows only your priority
After you start, the focus screen shows your priority in large type, your finish line underneath, and one reminder: stay with this until it is finished or new evidence changes the decision. There are only two meaningful actions: New Idea Appeared and Priority Complete.
The focus screen never shows your parked ideas. There is no list, no preview, no badge, and no count. A number like "17 parked ideas" would make you wonder what those ideas are, which is exactly the distraction the tool exists to prevent.
3. Run the 60-Second Appeal when a new idea appears
When a thought pulls at you, tap New Idea Appeared and write it in one sentence. There are no projects, categories, due dates, or folders to fill in. The idea is saved the moment you capture it, so it can never be lost. Then AI Focus Tool asks three 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?
Each question looks for evidence, not excitement. "This would be a great feature" is not evidence. "A paying customer will cancel today unless we fix this" is. A quiet 60 second timer reminds you to trust your first honest answer instead of debating.
If you capture an idea that looks like one you already parked, AI Focus Tool asks whether it is the same idea. If it is, the resurfacing count goes up instead of creating a duplicate. Ideas that keep coming back are a useful signal at review time.
4. Park it, or re-evaluate once
If all three answers are no, the screen simply says the idea is parked, that it is safe, and that it will come back at review time. One button returns you to your priority, exactly as you left it. Nothing about the parked idea stays visible.
If any answer is yes, you see your current priority and the new idea side by side and write the new evidence in one short sentence. Then you choose Keep Current Priority or Change Priority. Changing requires evidence; keeping does not. Once you choose, the decision closes, so the same debate does not keep reopening.
After either outcome, AI Focus Tool starts a short protected focus window, 10 minutes by default. It says: work on this for 10 more minutes before reconsidering anything else. During that window, new ideas are captured and parked immediately. If something is truly urgent, you can still run the full appeal.
5. Review parked ideas one card at a time
The Idea Parking Lot is a separate, calm place you open only when you choose to. Instead of a list of 30 ideas at once, you see one card at a time with the idea, when it appeared, how many times it resurfaced, and why it mattered if it passed an evidence question. For each one you choose Act on It, Keep Parked, or Discard.
Acting on an idea asks for one more piece of evidence: what says it deserves action? Then you decide whether it becomes your next priority or gets scheduled for a specific day.
6. Close the day in two lines
At the end of the day, Close the Day asks one question: was your priority completed? Then it shows two numbers: ideas captured and ideas that justified an interruption. That is enough to see whether new ideas are controlling your day or waiting their turn. There is no giant analytics dashboard.
7. The rules that make it work
- 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.
8. What AI Focus Tool deliberately leaves out
AI Focus Tool deliberately does not include any of these:
- Projects
- Teams
- Gantt charts
- Complex tags
- CRM features
- Document storage
- Dozens of integrations
- Complex calendars
- Configurable dashboards
Each of those features would add decisions to the screen, and every extra decision is another place for attention to leak. The sophistication lives in the behavior, not in the interface.
Optional Focus Add-ons that keep the rules
Some people want to break a big finish line into steps, connect priorities to a larger goal, plan the next ideas on a board, schedule focus blocks, or share a commitment with someone they trust. Focus Add-ons add those abilities without breaking the method. An add-on appears only after you have it, never adds a second active priority, and never fills the focus screen: at most you see the current step and a small goal line.
- Priority Steps: Break one priority into a few clear steps, and see only the current step while you focus. Priority Steps are included in Focus Pro ($49 per year), or available on their own for $12 per year on any account.
- Goal Context: Connect each priority to the larger goal it serves, without adding a second list to manage. Goal Context is included in Focus Pro ($49 per year), or available on its own for $12 per year on any account.
- Focus Board: Plan what comes next on a calm board: Parked, Ready, and Done. The Focus Board is included in Focus Pro ($49 per year), or available on its own for $15 per year on any account.
- Time Blocking: Plan focus blocks for your priority and see them in your own calendar. Time Blocking is included in Focus Pro ($49 per year), or available on its own for $15 per year on any account.
- Accountability: Share a private, read-only link to what you committed to, with someone who helps you follow through. Accountability is included in Focus Pro ($49 per year), or available on its own for $12 per year on any account.
- Focus Intelligence: Learn from your own decisions: patterns, a weekly focus report, and AI second opinions. Focus Intelligence is included in Focus Pro ($49 per year), or available on its own for $19 per year on any account.
See how each Focus Add-on protects one priority, and compare them with Focus Pro on the pricing page.
If you already use a task manager, keep it. Here is how a focus app and a to-do list work together. Not sure whether you need a timer, a blocker, a planner, or AI Focus Tool? Use the fit finder.