Gentle Start vs 15minutes

Starting is the hardest part. Gentle Start makes it one tap. When a task feels too big to begin, this is the smallest possible push. Open the app, tap once, and a calm focus timer counts up from zero. That's it - you've started, and starting was the whole battle. There's no goal to reach. No streak to keep alive. No countdown racing you to a finish line. Gentle Start counts UP, not down - so there's nothing to fail and no way to fall behind. Stay thirty seconds or thirty minutes. Both count. Both are real. HOW IT WORKS - Tap to begin: one button, no setup, no plan, no account. - The timer counts up quietly inside a living, animated scene. Nothing on screen pressures you - it's just proof that you're doing it. - Stop whenever it feels right. You showed up, and that's enough. WHY IT'S DIFFERENT Most focus timers and productivity apps are built around finishing - streaks, daily goals, charts, pomodoro countdowns, reminders that nag. For a brain that already feels behind, that pressure is the very thing that makes starting feel impossible. So Gentle Start leaves it out. No metrics staring back at you. No guilt. No catching up. Just a gentle way across the one line that actually matters: from not-started to started. WHO IT'S FOR Made for procrastinators, people with ADHD and executive dysfunction, students facing down an assignment or a long study session, writers staring at a blank page, and anyone who knows the strange, heavy weight of simply beginning. Whether you call it procrastination, task paralysis, or "I just can't start" - if "just start" has never once worked as advice, this was built for you. CALM BY DESIGN - 28 living themes: drifting clouds, falling snow, rising bubbles, a quiet night sky, and more - soft animated scenes that are easy on the eyes while you work. Or pick random and come back to a fresh space each session. - Ambient soundscapes: rain, fireplace, forest, and other gentle audio to ease you into focus. - A companion while you work: a tiny animated sun keeps you company in the Dynamic Island and on your Lock Screen during a session - with a whole sky of suns to choose from. - Home Screen widgets and Live Activities keep your session calm and glanceable without opening the app. - Works with Siri and the Action Button, so you can start without even looking. WHAT GENTLE START WILL NEVER DO - No streaks - No daily goals - No guilt, no shame - No ads - No subscriptions - No account or sign-up - No tracking Your sessions stay on your device. There's nothing to log into, and nothing watching you work. Gentle Start isn't here to make you do more. It's here to make starting feel possible, especially on the days it doesn't. Tap once. Start small. That counts. Gentle Start is on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Wherever you are, make your next start a gentle one.

Social media is not always the problem. Losing track of time inside it is. 15minutes gives the feed a beginning and an end. Choose the apps that tend to pull you in, use them for up to 15 minutes, and then take a one-hour break. When the hour is over, your minutes return and the cycle can begin again. Those 15 minutes are shared across your whole selection, so switching from Instagram to TikTok to Reddit does not reset the clock. You decide exactly what belongs in that selection, whether it is a social network, game, browser, or messaging app. There is no daily allowance to burn through before lunch and regret that evening. Instead, 15minutes creates a rhythm you can live with all day. The hour away gives the urge time to fade and gives something else time to begin. Closing 15minutes or restarting your phone will not bypass an active block. A BETTER PLACE TO LAND Reach for a blocked app and you will find a short, surprising fact instead of a blank screen. Browse discoveries from science, history, language, and the everyday myths many of us still believe. It turns a reflexive tap into a small moment of curiosity without reopening the feed. TIME AWAY CAN EARN TIME BACK Premium rewards the hours when you could scroll but choose not to. Each uninterrupted hour away from your selected feeds adds five bonus minutes, up to twice your usual budget. Open one of those apps and the earning streak starts over. AN EXIT THAT MAKES YOU PAUSE If you genuinely need an app before the hour is over, you can always get back in. The free version asks you to complete a 20-second breathing exercise. Premium lets you adjust the exercise or replace it with a few mental-math questions. Breathing remains available as a fallback, so you are never trapped; the brief moment of intention is the point. You can also end a session early. Any unused minutes are set aside and the one-hour break begins immediately, giving you an easy way to act the moment you realize you have had enough. ROUTINES FOR REAL LIFE With Premium, Work, Free Time, and Sleep can each have their own schedule and app list. Work and Free Time rules can also start automatically when you arrive at a saved place such as the office, gym, or home. Depending on the moment, you can block an app completely or give it a separate repeating budget. Every routine is off until you choose to set it up. PROGRESS WITHOUT MAKE-BELIEVE MATH See today’s completed breaks, your day streak, minutes used, and trends over 7, 30, or 60 days. “Time reclaimed” includes only breaks you actually kept. Unlock early and the counter stops, because progress should reflect what really happened. THE CORE STAYS FREE The 15/60 cycle, block screen, 20-second breathing unlock, progress view, and off switch are free for good. Premium adds earned minutes, the complete fact collection, custom cycle lengths, automatic routines, and more unlock options. The essential blocker itself is never held behind a subscription. NO ACCOUNT REQUIRED There is no signup, login, or profile to create. Your history and settings stay on your device; only subscription billing communicates with a server. Choose your apps once, then let 15minutes hold the boundary when your attention is somewhere else. Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/