I have been experimenting with Brain.fm. I am finding it very helpful. It has a lifetime subscription option that I bought through the Boing Boing store. I don’t know how long that offer will be available, but with the discount through Boing Boing the price was less than a year of headspace.
Currently, it works through the web, the mobile web, and an iPhone app. I don’t have an iPhone (I am a dedicated android user despite the consequences). I think they might have an android app coming soon. It works fine on the chrome browser on my phone and Kindle fire. I tend to prefer browser apps over dedicated apps anyway.
Brain.fm for meditation:
After a year of headspace, I feel like I have the routine down. Brain.fm has very nice 15 and 30 minute meditation options that do seem to calm my brain and make meditation easier.
Brain.fm for focus:
Most of the time I am using Brain.fm for focus. It’s hard to say how much is the placebo effect, but overall I feel more focused when I’m using it. I find it easier to not procrastinate. We will see if it helps me to grade papers and edit my backlog of publications. I need a little bit of help because at four in the morning I am not at all motivated to do real work.
Brain.fm for sleep:
I’ve also used it to go to sleep. I find it very difficult to sleep with headphones in, so it’s more to help me relax in preparation for sleep. It works really well for that.