Welcome to the Forest
After downloading Forest, all first-time users are welcomed with simple instructions. Above all, The app explains that planting virtual trees will encourage users to stay focused and be more present in their daily lives.
The trees planted in the app take a certain amount of time to grow — which you can customize depending on how long you want to abstain from your device — but because the trees can only grow if the app remains open, people have to put down their phones if they want to add to their virtual forests.
Before you get started, I recommend visiting the settings page in the app and creating an account so all of your data will be tracked. After that, you’re ready to grow.
Plant, focus, grow. Credit: Mashable Composite: Forest App
To plant a virtual tree, set a timer by dragging the green button around the circular photo of a plant on the app’s homepage. The app allows you to set the timer for a minimum of 10 minutes, a maximum of 120 minutes, or any 5-minute increments in between.
During the set time, your virtual tree will grow provided you keep the app open, and it will die if you exit the app or attempt to use any outside feature on your phone for longer than a few seconds.
While the death of a digital tree is obviously very low-stakes, and there are no real consequences if you let it bite the dust, over the course of a week using the app I learned that just knowing a few measly minutes away from your phone is all it takes to save a life — even that of a fake tree — is a surprisingly successful motivational tactic.
Planting a virtual tree
When it came time to plant my first virtual tree I wanted to get the feel of the app, so I only set the timer for 10 minutes.
Once you hit the “plant” button, Forest graciously gives you 10 seconds to cancel your impending phone-free commitment, just in case you want to send an important text first, or realize you’ve made a horrible mistake and aren’t ready to unplug, but don’t want to put a virtual tree’s life at risk.
After embarking on my first Forest experience, I noticed that after the 10-second grace period expires, the cancel countdown is replaced with a button that straight-up says, “Give Up.”
You can press this at any time during the run of your timer to abandon your mindfulness mission, but just know that doing so will prompt the guilt-ridden question: “Are you sure you want to give up? Your cute little tree will die.” 💔
Redeem Yourself
If you’re not the type to admit defeat via Give Up button, you always have the option of leaving the app of your own free will — which I will admit I did several times accidentally, simply because I’m so addicted to using my phone. But before killing your tree, Forest gives you a chance to redeem yourself.
The app will send a push notification seconds after you leave, which reads, “Go back to Forest immediately to prevent the tree from dying!” You have less than a minute to return to the app and save your tree, and if you fail to do so, the next time you open Forest, an image of your sad-looking husk of a tree will appear alongside the words: “Oops! you can do better next time!”
Screenshots of Forest push notification and ‘Give Up’ button Credit: MASHABLE COMPOSITE: FOREST
Should you fail to wait out your full timer, a dead tree will show up in your virtual forest to serve as a reminder that you gave up. You won’t receive any coins for the minutes you remained in the app before abandoning it, but they will be counted towards your total daily focus time, which is nice.
Planting my first tree was a delightful experience until I received a measly THREE COINS as a reward! After playing around with the app, it appears the maximum reward users can receive for a single plant (without the help of in-app purchases) is 43 coins from a 120-minute timer, which wouldn’t be so disheartening if a real-life tree didn’t cost a whopping 2,500 coins to plant.
Planting a real tree
If you’re downloading the app with the goal of planting real trees, it can definitely be done, but it’s going to take a bit of time (or additional money invested in the app) to save up the necessary coins.
Forest – focus timer for productivity Requirements
- 2 GHz Processor
- 2GB of RAM
- HDD space 800MB
- 670-MB installation space required
- Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1, and also 10
- MAC OS X 10.8 or later.
How to Mod Apk and install?
CONCLUSION
Whether you are a student that is constantly battling the Internet’s distractions, like social media notifications or text messages, or you’re a content creator who needs a new level of concentration, these apps can help you not only stay mindful and present but also help you build healthier habits, reinforce positive psychology, and motivate people to keep track of their progress.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic season, more individuals have started engaging productivity apps in hopes that these apps help boost productivity, focus, and attention spans while they study or work from home.