Focus Sessions

A focus session is a timer that blocks your chosen apps until it ends. This page covers setting the length, running a session, overtime, Infinite Focus, and what happens when you finish.

Set the length

Dial. Drag the dot around the ring. One full turn is 60 minutes, and you can keep turning up to 240 minutes (4 hours). The minimum is 1 minute. The ring changes color as you pass each hour, and the number in the middle shows the minutes.

Quick presets. Tap a round button below the dial to jump to that length. The defaults are 5, 15 and 25 minutes. You can change them in Customization.

Full Access

Without Full Access, sessions can be up to 25 minutes. Dragging past 25 or tapping a longer preset opens the Full Access screen.

Deep Focus

When the length reaches the Deep Focus threshold (60 minutes by default), the dial shows DEEP FOCUS, switches to the Deep Focus color, and the button reads Start Deep Focus. Deep Focus sessions earn a 25% XP bonus and count toward Deep Focus achievements. You can change the threshold in Customization.

Start a session

1. Set the length.
2. Tap the focus type button and choose a focus type.
3. Check which apps will be blocked. The menu shows Block Apps (3) when three apps are selected. See App Blocking.
4. Tap Start Focus.

Distant needs Screen Time access to start a session, even when no apps are selected. If access is missing, you'll see Screen Time Permission Required. See Troubleshooting.

During a session

The screen shows the time remaining with a progress ring and the label REMAINING. The menu is hidden and you can't change the focus type or length until the session ends.

You can leave Distant, lock your device or close the app. Blocking stays on, and the timer picks up where it should be when you come back. If you restart your device, open Distant and it restores the session.

Notifications during a session

If you allowed notifications, Distant sends:

Notification	When
Halfway There!	At the halfway point, for sessions of 10 minutes or more
5 Minutes Left	Five minutes before the end, for sessions of 10 minutes or more
Final Minute!	One minute before the end
Focus Session Complete!	When the planned time is up

Pause and resume

Tap Pause to stop the countdown. The ring turns orange and dashed and the timer shows PAUSED. Your apps stay blocked while paused. Tap Resume Focus to continue from where you stopped.

Emergency Override

If you need a blocked app urgently, use Emergency Override:

1. Tap Emergency Override. A 10-second countdown starts and the button reads Hold to Confirm.... Tap it again during the countdown to cancel.
2. When the countdown reaches zero, press and hold the button to confirm.
3. Your apps are unblocked and Override Active shows a five-minute countdown with Apps temporarily unblocked.

The session timer keeps running during the override. Distant blocks your apps again when the five minutes run out while Distant is open, or as soon as you return to Distant, whichever comes first. Emergency Override isn't available during overtime.

End a session

Tap End Focus at any time. Distant asks End Focus Session?. Tap End Session to stop, or Keep Going to continue. A session you end early is saved as Ended Early, and you still earn XP for every minute you focused.

Overtime

When the planned time is up and Distant is open, you'll see Session Complete! with two choices:

• End Session finishes the session.
• Continue Session keeps going. The timer turns green, shows OVERTIME, and counts the extra time with a plus sign under EXTRA TIME. Your apps stay blocked.

To finish, tap Complete Session, then Complete Session again to confirm. The whole session, overtime included, counts toward your history and XP.

TIP

Overtime works best with Distant open. If you leave Distant after the planned time has passed, it removes the blocks the next time you open it.

If the planned time ends while you're in another app, you get the Focus Session Complete! notification. Open Distant to finish the session.

Infinite Focus

Infinite Focus is a session with no set length. The timer counts up from zero and shows ELAPSED. It needs Full Access.

There are two ways to start one:

• Tap the infinity button next to the quick presets, then tap Start Infinite Focus. Tap the infinity button again to go back to a timed session. You can hide the button in Customization.
• Choose the Infinite Focus focus type. This switches the timer to Infinite mode automatically.

To finish, tap End Infinite Focus. Distant asks End Infinite Focus? and shows how long you've focused. Infinite sessions always count as completed and as Deep Focus.

Milestone notifications

During an Infinite Focus session, Distant sends a Milestone Reached! notification at 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 hours. Turn these off with Infinite Mode Milestones in Customization.

INFO

Infinite achievements only count sessions that use the Infinite Focus focus type. A session started with the infinity button and another focus type, such as Reading, counts toward that type instead.

After a session

When a session ends, the Session Complete screen opens with a celebration animation. It shows the focus type and how long you focused.

1. Under How was your focus?, tap one to five stars.
2. Under Add notes (optional), write what you got done.
3. If you went into overtime, an Overtime Bonus box shows your planned time and the extra time. Tap Remove Overtime to record only the planned time in your history, or Restore Overtime to undo that.
4. Tap Save & Continue.

Tapping Done closes the screen without saving the rating or notes. You can add them later from History.

At the end of a session you may also see banners for XP bonuses, level-ups, streaks and achievements. They're saved in the Notifications list in the menu.