For the press A Spell of Work — press kit
A Spell of Work is a quiet iOS focus timer. Twenty-five minutes of work, five of rest. One button. A ring that fills. A soft chime at the end. No trees, no streaks, no gamification. Made quietly by sthreelabs.
All materials on this page are free to use in editorial coverage of A Spell of Work. Please credit sthreelabs.
i.Quick facts
- App name
- A Spell of Work
- Maker
- sthreelabs (Christopher Doherty)
- Price
- $2.99 USD, one-time purchase. No subscription, no in-app purchases.
- Platforms
- iOS 17 or later. Universal (iPhone & iPad).
- Languages
- English
- Privacy
- No account, no analytics, no third-party SDKs, no ads. Today's spell count syncs via the user's private iCloud.
- App Store
- apps.apple.com/app/a-spell-of-work/id6762916817
- Site
- sthreelabs.com/spell
- Press contact
- [email protected]
ii.One-paragraph description
A Spell of Work is a focus timer for people tired of being gamified. Tap the ring; it fills over twenty-five minutes; soft chime; the break ring starts automatically. There are no tasks, no "what are you working on?" prompt, no graphs, no trees, no badges, no streak. Today's completed spell count is the entire statistic. Paid once at $2.99.
iii.Longer description (for editorial use)
Most focus timers want to know what you're working on, then turn the work into a competition with yourself or a tree that dies if you check Twitter. A Spell of Work goes the other direction: one button, a ring that fills, a soft chime, and the break ring begins. That's the entire app.
Twenty-five minutes on, five off — the standard pomodoro cadence, intentionally not configurable so the app stays one decision wide. Today's completed spell count is shown on the home screen as a single number. There are no graphs, no weekly reports, no trends. Tomorrow the number resets to zero, the same way a paper journal does.
iCloud sync keeps today's count consistent across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No account is required.
It's part of the small paperback family of apps under the sthreelabs label, alongside Tallies (habit counter), A Deep Breath (breathing paired with public-domain literature), and One Line in Time (one-line journal).
iv.What's distinctive
- Radical scope. One button. No tasks, no projects, no tags, no "what are you working on?" prompt. The app refuses to become a productivity system.
- Anti-gamification on purpose. No trees, no badges, no streak, no leaderboards. The app rewards finishing a spell with silence.
- One stat, today only. Today's spell count, then reset. No graphs, no trends, no weekly reports — refusing to convert your attention into data.
v.Features (positive list)
- Tap the ring — 25-minute spell begins, ring fills smoothly, soft chime at completion
- 5-minute break ring starts automatically; tap when you're ready for the next spell
- Today's completed spell count shown as a single number on the home screen
- iCloud sync of today's count across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
- Light, dark, and follow-system appearance
- Universal — same app on iPhone and iPad
vi.What it deliberately doesn't do
- No "what are you working on?" prompt. No tasks, projects, or tags.
- No graphs, trends, or weekly reports. Today's count, then it resets.
- No trees that die, no badges, no achievements, no streak counters.
- No subscription, no in-app purchases — paid once, yours forever.
- No account, no analytics, no third-party SDKs, no ads, no push notifications.
vii.Screenshots
High-resolution PNGs. Free to use in editorial coverage. Click any thumbnail to download.
viii.App icon
1024 × 1024 PNG. Two variants — light (default) and dark.
ix.Brand reference
A Spell of Work (and all sthreelabs marketing) uses the paperback design language. If you'd like to color-match in editorial graphics:
Typography: Crimson Pro (300–600 weights, italics) for body and headings. JetBrains Mono 400 for numerals and small caps.
x.Pull-quotes (use freely)
Lines from the listing copy that are designed to drop cleanly into editorial.
xi.About sthreelabs
sthreelabs is a one-person studio making small, quiet iOS apps. Every app is paid once, has no notifications, collects no data, and is deliberately scoped to do one thing well. A Spell of Work is part of the paperback collection — alongside Tallies (habit counter), A Deep Breath (breathing paired with public-domain literature), and One Line in Time (one-line journal).
Made quietly by Christopher Doherty.
xii.Press contact
Christopher Doherty — [email protected]
Press inquiries usually answered within 24 hours. Promo codes available on request for review purposes.
Made quietly by sthreelabs.