Begin with one question
Choose a small task or question, add an optional stopping point, and start the timer. If you drift, park a thought and return. When the session ends, you can record what you learned, where you are stuck, and the next small action. Reflection fields are optional.
Choose your rhythm
Start with 15/3, 25/5, or 50/10 minutes of focus/break, or choose custom durations in Settings. After four full intervals, the suggested break is longer. Change durations between sessions. Finishing early still lets you save your actual elapsed work; it does not count as a full interval toward a longer break.
When the app is in the background
Tend uses the session’s finishing time to catch up when reopened. It stops at the end of that interval and waits for you; it does not silently run through multiple focus sessions or count all your time away as work. In the iOS app, enable optional reminders in Settings. iOS notification and Focus settings may silence or delay them. These are regular notifications, not critical alarms. In a browser, the page needs to remain active for its chime.
Where your notes live
The app and browser each keep their own local notebook; they do not automatically sync. In Notebook, export this week’s notes as Markdown for your own use or a supervisor update. Settings also offers a full JSON backup and restore. Restore replaces the current notebook, so export first if you want to keep it.
On your home screen
The website can be added through your browser’s Add to Home Screen option. The separate iOS project supports iPhone and iPad on iOS/iPadOS 17 or later. App Store availability depends on release and Apple review; the website does not install an App Store build.
About the sources
The in-app Sources tab links to the books, original method, and research behind the practice. Tend’s research prompts are adaptations. The app and its presets have not been validated as a treatment or a guarantee of improved performance.
Still need a hand?
Email h534chen@uwaterloo.ca with your device, OS/browser version, and what happened. Include your app version if known. You do not need to send your notebook.