Android App Review: How to increase sustained attention on the task at hand

Have you ever had a patient who had problems completing his tasks? Maybe you had a patient with cognitive problems following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Maybe you had a patient who is a procrastinator and always seems to drift away from what he has to do. Maybe you had a patient in a progressive desensitisation program for OCD, PTSD or Phobia that had problem staying focused on the exposition task. Whatever the reason, you might find yourself in need for a way to remind you patient to come back to the task.

If you said yes to any of the above, this app is for you. StayOnTask is a free app created by Jay Muntz. It’s a very simple app that does only one thing: it verifies with you at random time if you are still doing the task that you are supposed to do. This app can run on the foreground of your Android or in the background if that’s preferable to you. You can choose the minimal and maximal time interval in-between each query for “on task or not” (from 1 to 90 minutes). The graphic interface is simple, clean but very intuitive and well designed. You can also choose the volume of the alarm and set vibration. Since you have the ability to choose the interval in which there will be a query, you can then control the annoyance or distractibility effect it might have. You would probably choose a short interval for a cognitive patient with a TBI, but a long interval for a student having difficulty focussing on his studies. It is a great tool for any neuropsychologists and cognitive-behavioural therapists.

Jocelyn Morettini

Health Psychologist / Neuropsychologist

jocelyn.morettini@gmail.com