Previously called “Dendrite”.

think TIME keepS your focus

Maximise your productive time by pacing your efforts using the timers in Single Tasking.

Based on well proven principles of how the brain works, “Single Tasking” provides a beautifully presented timers for focused work, thinking time and break time.

Simplicity is powerful. There are three configurable timers, started by tapping. After the allotted focus time has expired, a notification tells you it’s time to move to thinking, then to take a break.

Following this sequence for your work, reflects the natural rhythm of the human brain and leads to greater productivity.

unleash the power of the subconscious

“Single Tasking” contains three timers, which are activated in sequence. When you start work, tap the top (blue) timer to indicate you have started focused work. During this period you might be reading or writing a document, studying something you need to understand etc.

Once the timer for focus completes, a notification reminder appears on the iPhone. Tap on the middle (green) timer at a convenient break point in your focus work. You are now in a “thinking” period. During this period you should not look at the work from the focus period. Rather,  you should kick back and think. Let your thoughts roam over the topic easily, don’t try to think about any particular aspect, just let your thoughts go where they will whilst not straying too far. During this period you will unleash the power of the subconscious.

After the configured time, a reminder will tell you it’s time for a break. This is the end of the sequence. During the break period, make sure to get up, walk around and move a bit.

Targets

You can set the duration for the different timers on this view.

We suggest keeping the combined Focus and thinking total to below 30 minutes.

These settings are highly personal and depend on how you, as an individual best work. Experiment with different combinations to optimise your productivity.

Single Tasking is currently at version 3.0.0.

Concentrate

Dendrite works by capturing your concentration patterns.

People tend to either sit and work for too long thereby tiring their mind or they are distracted and have a poor quality session. Single Tasking will reveal both and enable you to optimise your work.

If you are easily distracted, go for short, intense periods of work with frequent breaks. If you’re deep in concentration the app reminds you take take that important break and rest your mind.

Both ways your study sessions improve.

Operating”SINGLE TASKING”

during a learning session

Simply tap the focus icon when you start studying. After a preset time, a notification will remind you to stop focusing and start thinking. You can choose to ignore the reminder (the focus session will continue).

If you start a break, a notification will remind you after a preset break duration to start focus once more. Again, you can either accept the reminder and start work or ignore it (break time will continue recording).

You can of course start and stop focus, thinking and break sessions independent of the reminders.

If you do forget to stop recording your session, the app will automatically set the end time to double the target for that interval.

Setting the duration of your focus intervals, THINKING intervals and breaks

It’s best to set the thinking reminder to fire after 30 to 40 minutes of focus time. If you find you are going well, you can always extend or just ignore the reminder until you are ready for a break.

It’s always better to take breaks regularly so don’t keep working for hours; you might think that’s a good idea but the quality of your work is likely to decline rapidly after 40 minutes. Regular breaks will ensure your work sessions are productive.

When you are on a break, stand up, walk around, look out of a window if possible. It’s important to rest your eyes and your brain to get the value from your breaks.

You could also try meditating in breaks to really add power to your studying (there are many great meditation apps on the iOS App Store).

Look back at your history

Single Tasking records your activity. The history screen shows each day as a progress bar. Tap on a day to see the time recorded for that day.