Best Clockwise Alternative for Deep Work in 2026

Clockwise is shutting down on March 27, 2026.

After Salesforce acquihired the Clockwise team for their Agentforce division, the product is being discontinued with just one week's notice. All user data will be deleted with no export path. Over 40,000 organizations — including teams at Uber, Netflix, and Atlassian — need to find alternatives.

If you're one of those users, this guide will help you find the right replacement based on what you actually need.

What Made Clockwise Great

Before diving into alternatives, let's acknowledge what Clockwise did well:

• Focus Time creation — Clockwise ran up to one million calendar permutations per team per day to carve out uninterrupted work blocks
• Flexible Meetings — It intelligently rearranged meetings to consolidate free time for deep work
• Slack integration — Auto-synced your calendar status and enabled DND during focus blocks
• No-meeting days — Teams could protect entire days for deep work
• Auto-decline — Automatically rejected meetings that overlapped with focus time

These features helped create over 8 million cumulative hours of Focus Time across Clockwise's user base. That's real value that needs to be replaced.

The Real Question: Scheduling vs. Execution

Here's the insight most "Clockwise alternatives" articles miss:

Clockwise solved a scheduling problem — "how do I find time for deep work?" But most knowledge workers already know when they're free. The harder problem is execution — "how do I actually focus during that time?"

Think about your typical day with Clockwise:

1. Clockwise moves meetings to create a 2-hour Focus Time block ✅
2. You open that block and... check Slack ❌
3. Someone taps you on the shoulder ❌
4. You switch between three tasks without finishing any ❌
5. The focus block ends, and you've done 30 minutes of real deep work ❌

The calendar was optimized. The execution wasn't.

That's the gap Clockwise never filled — and it's the gap most calendar-based alternatives still leave open. They'll rearrange your meetings, but they won't help you actually do the work.

What Clockwise Users Actually Need

If you valued Clockwise for deep work, here's what to look for in a replacement:

1. Focus protection that goes beyond the calendar

A calendar block labeled "Focus Time" doesn't protect you from anything. Your phone still buzzes. Slack still pings. Distracting websites are one click away. Real focus protection means blocking distractions at the system level — not just reserving time on a calendar.

2. Tasks inside focus time, not outside it

Clockwise's biggest shortcoming was that Focus Time blocks were empty. You had the time carved out but no structure for what to work on. The best alternative should connect your actual work — tasks from Jira, Linear, or your own list — directly into your focus sessions.

3. Built-in time tracking

If you're a freelancer or consultant, knowing how much focused time you spent on client work matters. A separate timer app adds friction and context-switching. Time tracking should happen naturally as you work.

4. Slack integration that actually silences

Clockwise synced your calendar status to Slack. That's nice. But it didn't stop people from messaging you. Real Slack integration means auto-DND during focus sessions — actually silencing notifications, not just changing an emoji.

The Best Clockwise Alternatives

Locu — Best for Deep Work and Focused Execution

Price: $12/month (40% off with code CLOCKWISE) | Best for: Engineers, freelancers, and makers

Locu takes the opposite approach from calendar optimizers. Instead of rearranging your schedule, it helps you execute during the time you have:

• Focus sessions — 90-minute structured work sessions on one task at a time, with full context and zero distractions
• Distraction blocking — Apps and websites are blocked during sessions. Slack goes to DND automatically. No willpower required
• Task management — Pull tasks from Jira, Linear, or create your own. Focus time isn't empty — it's filled with your actual work
• Session-based time tracking — Every session captures time naturally. Export timesheets for clients
• Calendar integration — Google Calendar and Apple Calendar show your meetings so you can plan focus time around them

Special offer: Use code CLOCKWISE for 40% off all plans. That's as low as $7.20/month — less than Clockwise's cheapest team plan.

Best for: Individual contributors who valued Clockwise for deep work and focus. Engineers, freelancers, and makers who need execution support, not just scheduling.

Motion — Best for AI-Powered Project Management

Price: $19/month (annual) | Best for: Teams wanting aggressive auto-scheduling

Motion combines calendar optimization with project management, using AI to auto-schedule tasks and meetings.

What you get:

• AI auto-scheduling of tasks onto your calendar
• Project management with deadlines and dependencies
• Meeting scheduling with auto-booking
• Team workload visibility

What you don't get:

• Focus session structure or distraction blocking
• Engineering tool integration (Jira/Linear)

Best for: Teams that want one tool for both project management and calendar optimization.

Morgen — Best for Calendar Aggregation

Price: $15/month (annual) | Best for: Users with multiple calendar accounts

Morgen focuses on unifying calendars across providers (Google, Outlook, iCloud) with AI-powered scheduling.

What you get:

• Multi-provider calendar aggregation
• AI scheduling assistant
• Task management integration
• Cross-platform desktop apps

What you don't get:

• Focus sessions or distraction blocking
• Deep engineering integrations

Best for: Users who primarily need to see all their calendars in one place with smart scheduling.

For Engineers and Freelancers

If you're a developer who used Clockwise to protect coding time, or a freelancer who needed focus blocks for client work, here's what to consider:

What you actually need:

• Tasks from Jira or Linear visible during focus time (not empty calendar blocks)
• Distractions blocked when you're in flow (not just a calendar event that says "Focus Time")
• Time tracked as you work (not a separate app running alongside)
• Slack quiet during deep work (auto-DND, not just a status change)

What you probably don't need:

• AI rearranging meetings (you can decline them yourself)
• Scheduling links (you have Calendly or Cal.com)
• Team-wide calendar optimization (you're an IC)

This is where Locu shines. It's built for individual contributors who ship — not for admins who manage team calendars.

Switching from Clockwise

The silver lining of Clockwise deleting all data: there's nothing to migrate. Starting fresh is simple.

1. Download Locu (macOS, Windows, or Web)
2. Connect integrations — Jira, Linear, Slack, Google/Apple Calendar
3. Start your first focus session (10-day free trial, no credit card)
4. Use code CLOCKWISE for 40% off when you subscribe

The Bottom Line

Clockwise was a great tool that promised deep work through calendar optimization. But most individual contributors who loved it eventually hit the same wall: the focus blocks were empty and unprotected.

If you were one of those users — if you loved the idea of protected focus time but found the reality lacking — it might be time to try a different approach entirely.

Instead of optimizing when you focus, optimize how you focus.

Clockwise gave you the time. Now you need the tool to use it.