What is your phone costing you?

4h a dayThat’s a real slice of every day.

61 days of your year, every year

20 Take back a third and that's more than 20 days a year.

Motiv is two halves.

At the end of the day, they meet in a single number.

  • Protect

    Blocking that iOS enforces, so it holds when Motiv is shut.

  • Rhythm

    Routines and reminders, for the things you want to actually happen.

Protect holds the space open.

Motiv doesn't do the blocking. iOS does, so a block holds when Motiv is closed or swiped away. If iOS ever drops one, Motiv notices and puts it back.

A block can start four ways, and one block can use more than one of them. How app blocking works on iPhone explains what iOS is doing underneath all four.

  • Instant

    One tap, for as long as you choose.

  • Schedule

    Weekday mornings, 09:00 to 12:00.

  • Location Plus

    When you arrive at a place, or when you leave one.

  • Daily limit Plus

    Once your chosen apps pass the cap between them.

The times are an example; the shapes are not.

Letting yourself back in

You always can. An app that traps you is an app you delete. Motiv only makes it deliberate, and you choose how deliberate.

  • Wait out a 30-second countdown.
  • Write down why you need it.
  • Type out a phrase it picks.
  • Enter a code from your authenticator app.
  • Or never let it go at all.

Only the authenticator code needs Plus . The other four are free.

What iOS won't let any app do

Rhythm decides what goes in it.

Two kinds of thing, and the difference that matters is what happens when you miss one.

How a Routine and a Reminder differ, row by row
What it doesRoutine A habit you’re building. Motiv cheers you on. Reminder A thing you can’t forget. Motiv keeps a gentle eye out.
The jobBuild a habitDon’t forget a thing
RewardPoints, streaks, a small celebrationQuiet points, no streaks, no confetti
Focus ScoreCountsCounts, more gently
Miss oneThe streak needs a good day. The score doesn’t move.Nothing happens. Do it late, or skip it

Bins out on Tuesday, pay the rent, take your vitamins. Motiv isn't a medical device, so keep anything critical somewhere safer too.

Both halves feed one number.

Protected time and finished work roll into one daily Focus Score. Two deliberate acts cost you something, and both are bounded.

82
An example day.

What adds to it

  • Protected time that actually ran

    Screen Time confirmed it, so it counts.

  • A routine or a task finished

    Every completed piece adds.

  • Closing a shield with “Not now”

    +1 each, up to +5 a day.

What dents it

  • Pausing a block, or letting yourself past one

    −4 each, never past −12.

  • Ending one early

    −3 each, never past −9.

What costs you nothing

Miss a day, skip a routine, never get to a task, and the number simply waits where you left it. There is no red state anywhere in the app, and no score at all until you've done something.

A good day starts here
70 of 100
Real protected time holds this
35 floor
Your ceiling on day one
90 → 100

What does reset

Your streak. It counts consecutive good days, so a day without one ends it. That is the rule Duolingo and Apple Fitness use, and softening it would leave you with a streak that meant nothing.

Going away? Holiday Mode Plus holds it for you instead of breaking it.

Motiv arrives on iPhone soon.

Start with one block, or one morning.

See what's free

No waitlist, and nothing to sign up for