Mindora

For Mac and Android

No more Instagram while you're working.

Mindora is a focus app for Mac and Android. Before you start, you pick the apps and sites you need. Until the session ends, nothing else opens.

Install Try it here first

12 3 6 9

You know what you need to do, and then suddenly you've spent half an hour scrolling Instagram. If you have ADHD, this probably sounds familiar. Here's a morning of work with Mindora.

09:00

You sat down to finish chapter 3.

All of this is on your computer. Start a session and see what happens.

This is just a demo. Nothing on your device gets locked.

09:07

Without thinking, you went for Instagram.

It doesn't scold you or count your slip-ups. A screen comes up and you wait a few seconds before the back button works. That gives you a moment to ask if you really want to go.

Every time you go back to it, you wait longer:

  1. 5
  2. 10
  3. 20
  4. 30
  5. 45
  6. 60

seconds

Same for sites: in Chrome and Safari, only the ones you allowed will open. Force Quit or restarting your Mac won't end the session either.

Mindora's warning screen with one sentence, the session goal, a place to write a thought and a button back to work.

09:12

You remembered you need to text someone.

You don't have to do it right now. From anywhere on your Mac, press these three keys, type it and hit Enter. You'll see it on your break.

Mindora's small panel with a clock, the time left and a button for writing a thought.
This small panel stays on screen during a session, and you can move it.

09:25

Time for a break.

You make a profile for each kind of work, with its own allowed apps and sites. Then you pick one of these two modes:

Pomodoro

25 minutes of work, a 5-minute break, and 15 minutes at the end. On breaks, everything's open.

4 rounds, 2 hr 10 min in total

Deep lock

You get a 5-minute break every hour, but the lock stays on. Get up, drink some water and come back.

3 hours in total

  • Work
  • Free break
  • Locked break

Numbers are minutes. You can change all of them for each profile.

10:40

You picked up your phone.

If “Also lock the phone when a session starts on this Mac” is on in your Mac's settings, your phone locks too and only calls stay open.

Mac can lock it Phone

Phone never locks it Mac

Calls and emergencies
Never locked.
If your internet drops
The phone's lock still opens on time by itself.
Without a Mac
The phone works on its own, and you can run sessions on it.
Connecting to your Mac
Scan one QR code and you're done. Messages pass through the public ntfy.sh service, but they're encrypted and the key is only on your devices.

11:15

This time you really have to go.

You can always end a session, just not with one click. You wait a bit and write why you want to leave.

1minute to wait in Pomodoro

3minutes to wait in Deep lock

The wait is there so you decide, not the urge of the moment.

12:30

Session's over.

Your stats show how long you worked, on which project, and how many times you came back to work.

If today was hard, make the next session shorter and don't beat yourself up.

Settings also has three color themes: Dusk, Dawn and Aurora.

Mindora's stats screen with focus time, number of sessions and a chart of time per project.
The numbers in this picture are samples.

Install

No sign-up and no account. Your data stays on your device, and only the phone link's encrypted messages leave it.

Mac

macOS 14 or later, with Apple silicon (M1 or newer)

Download for Mac
  1. Open the file and drag Mindora into Applications.
  2. If it won't open the first time, click Open Anyway near the bottom of this page:System Settings › Privacy & Security
  3. Make a profile and pick its allowed apps and sites.
  4. If you allowed a browser, click the permission check button and choose OK when your Mac asks. Without this, the browser stays locked during sessions.
  5. Keep your first session short so you can see how it works.

Android

Android 10 or later

Download APK
  1. Open the APK. If your phone asks, allow installs from this source.
  2. In Mindora's settings, turn on Accessibility access. The app uses it to see what's open and show the lock screen.
  3. If Samsung blocks it, open this page and choose Allow restricted settings from the three-dot menu at the top:Settings › Apps › Mindora
  4. In Mindora's settings, also turn on “Running in the background”. On Samsung, add Mindora to this list if it's there. If it isn't, you're done:Settings › Battery › Background usage limits › Never auto sleeping apps
  5. To connect to a Mac (optional): in your Mac's settings, under Phone, click “Connect a phone”. Then tap “Connect to Mac” in your phone's settings and scan the QR code.

Windows

The Windows version isn't ready yet.

Download for WindowsComing soon

The app is in Persian, English and German.