Get a sneak peek at our new feature list, thanks to lifetime members

So if you haven't already, or you weren't involved in the lifetime membership, I suggest you read this post first, it details the lifetime membership we ran, which allowed people to vote for the features they wanted to see, so we can now build them!

Otherwise, you are probably salivating to know which feature won!

Let's build a little suspense first with the administration and let you know how we tallied the votes...

Every member had three votes, so we assigned 3 points to their top preference, 2 points to second preference and 1 to third preference. Like this;

PreferencePoints
1st3
2nd2
3rd1

We then totaled the votes. Drumroll, please....

FeatureTotal points
mobile apps186
planning/to-do lists168
re-occuring timer and long break option105
productivity analysis85
session comments/notes57
third party/Zapier integration38
desktop timer pomodoro count42
better notifications (audio and visual)27
menu bar/tray icon28
count up timer22
integration with music or other sounds21
tagging21
team/organization plan9
support for flat rate projects12
meta data graphing (picture word count graphed)1

In a pretty pie chart it looks like this;

lifetime membership poll graph

So the plan moving forward is that we will firstly build out the features one by one (we have almost completed the iPhone mobile app already, yay!).

We hope to continue to grow focus booster to allow us to reduce the time we need to spend consulting. As that happens, we will be able to add features more quickly and maybe even begin to build features in parallel. Parallel features! A dream come true...

We would also like to delve into some of the individual comments we have had from our lifetime members, there are some great ones and it will hopefully help to address some of your own questions and thoughts!

"Focus on integration with other apps"

Many people have requested to-do list integration, which I guess is no surprise seeing as having our own to-do list was the second most voted feature. Other highly requested integrations were....

We will be building our own simple to-do list first and then adding a Zapier integration, so if your chosen to-do app links with Zapier you are in luck, if not you will have to wait a little longer for further integrations or you can just transition to our inbuilt to-do list!

"Please, please, please keep it simple!"

The top reason many people love focus booster above all other pomodoro apps is it's simplicity. And we won't over-complicate things. A pomodoro should have little to no ceremony to start and it shall stay that way. We will be careful not to lose the wonderful core element you all love, as things progress.

"Thanks and good luck!"

For those people whose most desired feature has already been achieved or they are completely happy with the product as it is. Thanks for your support and well wishes, we are super happy to have you with us (smile)

"Generate invoices straight from focus booster"

This is something we really want to do and can see how valuable it would be but it is next level from where we are now. Stay posted.

"Group labels by client"

focus booster will in future, allow you to see all the labels associated to each client to make label selection easier. Currently, this is being built into the mobile apps and the desktop and web apps will soon be updated to reflect it.

Eventually, we will also extend labels to reporting, for those who are wishing to see their dashboards further broken down by task, rather than client.

"Looking to the future"

When we integrate to-do lists and productivity analysis into focus booster, we also want to add the features that will help you to compare an "idealistic", planned day to a ""realistic"", time-documented day.

"Make it work for everyone"

Not everyone always works in Pomodoros, there are times when other systems work better for some, and focus booster will cater to this soon.

"An API, please"

We would love to enable other devs to build on the focus booster platform so an API and webhooks are in our future.

"I want to work for you!"

Aww, thanks! When we get to the point of being able to hire, I promise lifetime members will be the first ones to know! If you want to register interest (perhaps you are already freelancing using Upwork or you are a student looking for an internship) please send me an email.

"Offline mode"

This is a tricky one, but it is something we are going to work toward, we also want to have a preference within the mobile app to enable airplane mode on your phone when you start a pomodoro session. This will help with managing distractions by ensuring you don't get calls, notifications or messages while you are in a session.

"A smartwatch app would be nice"

Yes is certainly would and we are building native mobile apps, making it a possible future reality (smile)

"Pause"

Nope. Sorry but nope. We are sticking to the pomodoro technique, plus we really like to encourage you guys to use your inner discipline. It is way too easy to hit a pause button and get into bad habits.

"Features central to the Pomodoro Technique"

We know there are a few key features missing from focus booster that are central to pomodoro. To-do lists and recurring sessions and long break will help to address some of these. We also want to implement a way to mark interrupted sessions, add notes and eventually as an extension to a to-do list also incorporate the activity inventory to capture other things you need to get done in your day.

"More thought leadership"

This one is so perfectly bang on time. We want to hear what you want to hear more about on our blog.

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"Improve notifications"

People have mixed feelings about this one, showing there is a real need to provide greater customisation, while some would like to have "different less 'shocking' :-) end-of-time sounds", others are so in the zone they want more distraction to make them take that all important break. We will add a choice of sounds and more visual cues to stop working to try to address the differing opinions on this one.

So, there we have it, folks. Quite a meaty post on what people think and want from focus booster. We have never been so clued up and so overwhelmed. So much to get done, so we better get right to work! (wink)

Thanks to everyone who has supported us, both through the lifetime membership campaign and also as a regular subscriber. We are glad focus booster makes a difference in your life and hope to see you around for a long time to come.