Hi, I'm Jon Rumens.

Because I know exactly what it's like to feel like you have no control over your own habits and focus. Like your time keeps disintegrating no matter how hard you try to stay on track.

I've been there. In fact, that feeling is the whole reason FocusMe exists.

It started nearly 19 years ago

Back in 2007, I landed my first job working from home as a programmer. The remote freedom I'd been dreaming of for years. No commute, no office, nobody looking over my shoulder. And then the deadlines started to pile up.

And I just couldn't find it in myself to focus.

It certainly wasn't the first time I'd battled procrastination. The deadlines weren't even all that demanding, but I kept dropping the ball anyway. Everyone has their kryptonite when it comes to digital devices. Mine was multiplayer games and browsing social media for hours and hours on end.

My work was slipping. Hard. I was going to lose the job I'd dreamed of if I wasn't careful, and I was desperate to break my bad habits before they broke me.

Have you ever felt like two sides of you were at war?

I sure did. One side knew exactly what I wanted, and what it would take to get there. And another side feared change, and success, to an extreme.

That troublesome side didn't just lure me back to procrastination as the deadlines loomed. It would actually work hard to sabotage me. I bought web-blocking software to cut myself off from my biggest distractions, and it helped for about a day. Then this other me would always find a way to disable it, bypass it, and cheat again.

So I built something I couldn't cheat

I was a programmer, so I took matters into my own hands. I tried building my own app. One that would stop me bypassing my own web blocker, no matter how clever the other me got. After a few days of coding, it was just complete enough to test.

I'll admit I was nervous. I'd just spent a chunk of precious, scarce time on a shot in the dark. What if it failed like everything else had?

I was finally able to stick with blocking my distractions. Caving to temptation simply wasn't an option any more, and I finally spent my time on the things that actually mattered. It changed my life and, honestly, it saved my career.

I called it Computer Discipline. Not exactly catchy.

It worked, and then it never stopped growing

Over time I wanted more for my little creation. The extension became a proper standalone application. It got more powerful, and so did my own focus, even on the days I didn't have it running. That was the part that surprised me most. This was lasting change, not a crutch.

So I kept improving it. Computer Discipline became Distraction Blocker, and in 2012 it finally became FocusMe.

I'll be honest about the irony here. Somewhere around fifteen years ago I got a little obsessed with the app itself. I'd procrastinate on my real, paid work by tweaking FocusMe instead. The tool I built to stop me overworking became the thing I overworked on. I still catch myself doing it today.

Going all in

For years FocusMe was a side project I built around contracting work. My last contract was a well paid role in London, and on 8 June 2018, after five years of contracting, I walked away from it to build FocusMe full time and create the best productivity app and web blocker I possibly could.

That was eight years ago. The app itself is nearly nineteen years old. It's the longest thing I've ever stuck with, and the only thing I've never gotten bored of improving.

FocusMe is much bigger than me now

Today FocusMe runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, in nine languages, used by people in dozens of countries I've never visited. Students, parents, writers, developers, anyone trying to win back their own attention. It has an AI Coach that learns your patterns, and an enforced mode you genuinely can't talk your way out of.

And it's still built by a small team in England. No venture capital, no big office. Just people who use the thing they make.

I'm thrilled people are still using and loving this product nineteen years on. I still read the 5-star reviews to remind myself how this tool changes lives. And I still use FocusMe every single day, because I still need it as much as anyone.

Now we're here to change your life for the better. Plenty of companies make that promise, but I've watched this tool save thousands of people from drowning in digital distraction and take their time back.

Let's use proven science in habit formation and pre-commitment to help you fight back and regain control of your own hours.