Focusmate vs. Flow Club: Which Productivity Tool is Best for Accountability and Focus?

You've probably heard that the average human attention span is around 8.5 seconds [1]. And if you have ADHD, staying focused can be even more of a challenge.

But the good news is that maintaining focus on your goals doesn’t have to be effortful. That's where accountability platforms like Focusmate and Flow Club come into the picture. These are some of the best productivity tools designed to create a supportive space where you can stay productive and hold yourself accountable. With this, you're in the best position to beat procrastination and stay on track! 

In this article, we'll explore the features, benefits, and key differences between Focusmate and Flow Club. This will help you determine which platform is a better fit for your needs and goals.

What is Focusmate? 

Focusmate is a virtual co-working platform that pairs you up with an accountability partner or workmate from the community. When booking a session on Focusmate, you'll be randomly connected with someone else who also wants to get work done at that specific time. This technique is called body doubling, where the presence of another person doing tasks alongside you helps to keep you accountable and motivated.

At the agreed time, you and your work buddy will join a video call, greet each other, share your goals, and then get the ball rolling with whatever you want to accomplish. Throughout the session, you'll work alongside each other with your cameras on and mostly in silence. When the time runs out, you'll check in with each other to discuss what you've both completed in that timeframe. 

As you work more on Focusmate, you may encounter people you enjoy body doubling with. You can "Favorite" them. If you both have similar availability in the future, Focusmate may prioritize booking your session with them, though this isn't guaranteed. 

What is Flow Club? 

Like Focusmate, Flow Club is also a virtual co-working platform for productivity that implements the body doubling technique. Rather than pairing you one-on-one, Flow Club has sessions you can book throughout the day, like a workout or yoga class. Sessions are in small groups led by a host who helps to facilitate your focus. 

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When your session begins, you'll be connected with a host and a small group of peers from the Flow Club community. You'll take turns sharing your goals with your host and each other for the first five minutes, verbally or via the chat, and then the focus timer will begin. Your host can optionally share focus-inducing music while everyone begins working alongside each other toward their own individual goals. The focus period can be anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours, with periodic breaks. As the session ends, your host will check in on everyone's progress and help celebrate your accomplishments. 

Flow Club helps you tap into the "flow state”—a heightened level of focus where you become so absorbed in your work that time seems to fly by. Often called "being in the zone," this state is where you can truly perform at your best. If you have ADHD, it’s a way of helping you direct your “hyperfocus” only on what serves you, and away from rabbit holes or “procrastivity.” 

The hosted small group format balances comfortability, accountability, with a level of energy and motivation you can’t get on your own or with just one other person.  The mechanism is similar to why  a group workout or Pilates class is more motivating than doing it on your own. Combining this with other techniques like pomodoro timer and time-blocking, you get the perfect recipe to unlock a whole new level of productivity in your daily activities! 

Key Differences between Focusmate and Flow Club

How can you pick the right virtual coworking platform for productivity? 

This requires you to understand the features of Focusmate vs. Flow Club. Flow Club provides more group accountability,community support, and is more ADHD-friendly. Flow Club balances just the right amount of structure, novelty, and is designed with ADHDers in mind. For example, there is a variety of sessions to choose from, depending on what may work for you at the moment. The host also helps check in with you not only for accountability, but to make sure you are taking breaks and can gently pull your back from distraction or rabbit holes. On the other hand, Focusmate offers one-to-one sessions with fewer options for customization. 

Focusmate vs. Flow Club

Let's dive a little deeper into their differences. 

Firstly, Flow Club consists of host-led group sessions specifically designed to keep you accountable in a supportive, ADHD-friendly community. In contrast, Focusmate provides one-on-one sessions in which you're randomly paired with another user to work.

Flow Club encourages punctuality, but there's some wiggle room for flexibility. If needed, you can join late or leave early without much issue as long as you let your group know. In Focusmate, however, your commitment is more rigid. If you leave early, you'll abandon your work buddy, which isn't ideal. You also run the risk of your work partner tuning off mid-session and leaving you working alone. That being said, Flow Club is also good for those of you who prefer rigid and strong commitment. The host-led model is the best of both worlds.

Another area in which Flow Club shines is the flexibility it provides in terms of session lengths and productivity rhythms. With Focusmate, you can choose a 25, 50, or 75-minute session and opt for quiet mode. 

Meanwhile, Flow Club provides more options in terms of session length, including 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180-minute ones. In Flow Club, you can also go for specific features, such as chat-only sessions (no verbal sharing), and whether you prefer more frequent breaks, more frequent check-ins,, and even what kind of music will be played. Many sessions also utilize the Pomodoro technique, which involves alternating between periods of deep focus and short breaks. It's a widely-used method to boost productivity.

Lastly, while both platforms encourage you to keep your camera on for accountability, Flow Club offers a little more leeway if you need to turn it off. On the other hand, Focusmate is stricter about keeping your camera on throughout the session. 

The table below summarizes the differences between Focusmate and Flow Club:

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Community Support: the Flow Club Difference

One of the most significant benefits of joining Flow Club is the community it provides. Flow Club's host-led sessions are specifically designed to foster a sense of camaraderie and belonging, where you feel like you're part of a larger community that wants to support you in achieving your goals. The community is ADHD-friendly, neurodivergent, and will always pick you up when you’re down.

You'll be working with people worldwide toward the same aim of being productive. At the end of each session, your host will make it a point to celebrate every person's progress together, providing everyone with that extra shot of dopamine for the day. 

You can even join community clubs based on your interests or preferences, such as the "Eat the Frog" or Neurodivergent Flow Club. 
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Having a supportive community to hold you accountable to your goals and celebrate both big and small milestones can make all the difference in how likely you are to achieve them. 

Key Features Flow Club Users Love

Some of the highlight features of Flow Club are as follows: 

• Implementation of the Pomodoro technique, which helps you focus on your goals in specific time blocks while encouraging breaks to help you recharge mentally
• Encourages time-blocking, helping you add structure to your workdays and commit in advance to your goals 
• Provides a non-judgmental space for ADHDers and neurodivergent people to share and accomplish their goals
• Opportunities to host your own sessions and help others achieve their goals, which can serve as extra motivation for you to stay accountable yourself
• Sends calendar reminders to ensure you remember your sessions and are able to join on time 
• Provides flexibility in terms of session length, verbal or chat-only sharing, type of music played, and length and number of breaks
• Provides flexibility to choose different session timings, which means you can find one that fits seamlessly into your day.
• Opportunities to join community clubs, like the decluttering with ADHD, finance, students, parents, neurodivergent, and even data analysts flow club, where you can connect and work alongside people with similar interests and goals 
• Large diversity in session hosts, allowing you to learn from and connect with hosts that have different strengths, experiences, and productivity tips and tricks 

If you're ready to leverage the power of virtual co-working for productivity, Flow Club is definitely one of the best solutions for that. 

Which Platform is Right for You?

Choosing between Flow Club and Focusmate boils down to your personal preferences and work style. There's no one-size-fits-all solution that works perfectly for everyone, so you may need to experiment a little with both platforms to find which of the two aligns better to your needs.

The table below summarizes the pros and cons of each platform:

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Ultimately, the right platform is the one that caters to your focus needs. You can take both on a test drive to see whether you prefer the one-on-one accountability of Focusmate or the supportive community vibe of Flow Club. If you're ready to try Flow Club for ADHD, you can get started now for free!

References

[1] Bradbury, N. (2016). Attention span during lectures: 8 seconds, 10 minutes, or more? Advances in Physiology Education, 40(4), 509–513. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00109.2016 

[2] Main image courtesy: Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash