( OFFTIME )

THE PROBLEM
Does this sound familiar? You're trying to concentrate but you're constantly interrupted by phone calls and other requests for your attention. You should be revising for an important exam but you're distracting yourself with Facebook or browsing news websites. Back at home, you would like to unwind but you simply can't afford to turn off your company mobile phone.

Ever since smartphones, tablets, laptops and the likes have started accompanying us in our daily lives and social networks vie for our attention, we are constantly switched ON: anywhere and anytime. We check our mobile companions a hundred times a day or more, even if there is no news at all. How are we even supposed to pull the plug without having the feeling of missing out on something? How do we clear our minds without causing affront to other people? "Simply unplugging" is often more difficult than we'd imagine.

DEVELOPING A SOLUTION: ( OFFTIME )

We want to change all that and provide you with a tool that helps you have more time off from our digitally connected daily routine. You decide both what is important and when you want to take time for important things. In the meantime, ( OFFTIME ) looks after your social contacts and only filters through what is really supposed to come through. Everybody else receives a note saying when they can reach you again. But there's more: Once you have a moment of peace and quiet, ( OFFTIME ) helps you not to distract yourself. For more concentration and more relaxation – every day.

WHAT ( OFFTIME ) CAN ALREADY DO WITH ANDROID:

1) block and answer calls and text messages
2) make exceptions (e. g. your boss, partner or mother can still contact you)
3) block apps (e. g. work e-mails, Facebook, Skype, Twitter, WhatsApp etc.)
4) apply different profiles (e. g. meeting, concentrated work or time off)
5) activate or deactivate profiles automatically based on your calendar entries
6) show you a quick overview of what went on during your ( OFFTIME )
7) create a "habit lab" to show you your phone call habits and any interrupting influences

We are currently in the alpha phase of developing ( OFFTIME ). The app is stable and runs on must Android devices.

If you choose to support us, we'll grant you exclusive access to a preliminary version of ( OFFTIME ) for Android and all other functions which we will develop together with you and according to your needs!

+++ Please note: At the moment, ( OFFTIME ) is only available for Android and unfortunately not yet for iOS (iPhone, iPad etc.) or other platforms. We will do our best to make ( OFFTIME ) available for other devices as soon as possible, although Apple is not exactly making it easy for us with their closed system. If you care about compatibility with iOS, you can speed things up with our special iPhone rewards! +++

BASED ON PSYCHOLOGY
For an even more effective solution, we integrate scientific findings into our quest to identify ways of using our working hours in a more focused way and spending time with our friends and family without being distracted or interrupted. Psychology has taught us that working without interruptions makes us both more productive and more creative, and that unwinding and relaxing without distractions is the key to a better work-life balance.
Our psychology-savvy background within the team (thanks, Alex!) allows us to weave invaluable scientific knowledge into the development process and thanks to a cooperation with the Humboldt University of Berlin we can scientifically test the effectiveness of ( OFFTIME ).

THE FUTURE: One click. Every device goes quiet.

Soon ( OFFTIME ) will be that one button that you press when you want to dedicate all your concentration to the one thing that is important to you at a specific moment. For us, that means 1) going cross-device and cross-platform (Blackberry, Windows Phone, iPhone and Mac, Windows, Linux... but also iWatch, Google Glass etc. and everything that is yet to come) and 2) creating algorithms which make things easier rather than more complicated. But of course all of that still lies well in the future, and for now we have to make sure we get the first steps right. But we already have the vision and the determination to create something big, and we would like to walk this road together – with you.

For more information on ( OFFTIME ), please visit our website:
http://offtime.co/startnext/ueberofftime

With ( OFFTIME ), we want to create room and time in this hyperconnected world. Or more specifically, self-determined room and time: you alone decide when and to what extent. Without feeling guilty or being afraid of missing something. We want to focus on important things while going back to separating work from our time off and at the same dealing with the expectations of others in a successful and professional way.

( OFFTIME ) is especially valuable for those of us who in their daily life find it difficult to retreat because of their job: Young up-and-comers with a family, self-employed or creative people alongside bloggers, journalists or quite simply students are affected by this problem. They all look for a place with no distraction to focus on things that take time and a quiet environment: reading, writing, studying or spending time with your family.

At a later stage, we also want to address and reach larger parts of society, because we believe that everybody is entitled to some room and time free from distractions. After all, with an increasing use of Android devices, iPhones, iWatches, Google Glass etc., the future will only bring more of these troubles.

If we do not manage to meet our crowd-funding targets by inspiring a critical mass of you, our project will inevitably fail. It's in your hands: You can give us the push we need to take ( OFFTIME ) from its development stage to version 1.0! In return, you will be part of it from the very beginning: You'll get your say in developing ( OFFTIME ) and you'll also get the app before everybody else does.

Being independent is of course also a key point for us. To attract large investors, many apps are advertised with the promise of turning their users' behaviour into money by introducing ads, selling user data or because they are based on a business model that aims to make the user dependent in the long run. They almost always revolve around trying to get the user to spend even more time with their device.

The big players out there (Google, Apple, Facebook, Samsung etc.) can't really be expected to support offline spaces any time soon. After all, they make money out of getting us to surf, chat, make phone calls or distract ourselves with other things.

OFFLINE INSTEAD OF ALWAYS ONLINE

( OFFTIME ) is different from other apps because we want to create space and time to spend, at least occasionally, offline: far from our digital devices. We don't want annoying ads, and we don't want to make you keep using our app for a long time. Even just operating ( OFFTIME ) should take up as little of your time as possible: as easy as possible and as comprehensive as necessary. For us, ( OFFTIME ) is more than just a product – it's the beginning of a movement.

With as little as € 13,000 we can launch a basic version of ( OFFTIME ) for Android devices. We would use that money to pay for the costs incurred up until July: that's programmers, office rent and other expenses required to power the beta phase with your feedback, fine-tune the app and successfully launch it into the market.

With € 25,000 EUR we can design ( OFFTIME ) as a cross-device solution with automating functions. That would mean activating ( OFFTIME ) at the push of a button on several devices at a time. Plus, it would give you the option to plan and schedule your ( OFFTIME ) in your calendar. We could start extending ( OFFTIME ) to another mobile platform (Windows Phone, iOS for iPhones, iPads etc.) or another device (PC, Mac etc.) that is important for you and market the software internationally.

With € 40,000 or more we would get by until the end of the year and could start developing the app for two more platforms or devices. We could make ( OFFTIME ) even smarter thanks to artificial intelligence in order to support you more strategically with the help of informed suggestions.
The goal is within our reach: Turn off all apps, phone calls and text messages that distract you on all of your digital devices, regardless of the platform and at the push of a button – and start enjoying the moment. Backed by your strong voice, we are sure to convince every business angel (oh yes, they do exist – they're out there to help us!) that our movement for more room and time free from distractions is worth supporting.

But first things first: We promise you that we will start off spending only very little money on advertising and with only moderate wages for ourselves. Your financial support will help us to successfully kick-start ( OFFTIME ) and avoid being left with mountains of debt.

Click here for more information on funding and planning:
http://offtime.co/startnext/planung