Computer programs
Smartphone & tablet apps
Browser extensions
Notes
- The Edge and Brave browsers on laptop/desktop computer can install Chrome extensions.
- On Android, the Chrome browser cannot install extensions. Use Yandex or Kiwi instead. Or use Firefox.
Block or remove distractions
Block or remove distractions
Block distracting websites or apps
Choose websites or apps you don’t want to access for a period of time
Use focus mode
Use your laptop’s and apps’ distraction-free modes to reduce visual distraction
Limit notifications
Allow only those notifications you really need, at the times you need them
Mac
PC
Best all-in-one blocker for Mac/Windows. Blocks apps & websites. Powerful scheduling functionality.
Price: Free: block websites on session basis.
Pro ($39, one-time): block applications and schedule blocks.
Why: Works on Windows + Mac, and all major browsers on your computer. Very powerful and flexible blocking and scheduling. Does not collect user data.
What it can do:
- create lists of websites or applications to block, then initiate blocking manually (Free) or set a weekly schedule (Pro)
- show a motivational quote when you try to access a blocked website
- has many settings to stop future versions of yourself from overriding the blocking
- you can add pomodoro-style breaks to blocking sessions
- has a mode that prevents you from using your computer entirely
Cons: Blocking applications and creating a weekly block schedule require the paid version.
Try it:
Price: Free version lets you lock yourself into 1 application for a duration of time.
Pro version ($19, one-time) lets you lock yourself into an unlimited number of applications (and also set up a break schedule).Why: Works on Windows + Mac. Well-engineered, simple way to lock yourself into specific apps. Does not collect user data.
What it can do:
- simple program that lets you choose applications on your computer that you want to restrict yourself to for some length of time
Cons: Only lock yourself into applications - cannot block websites. (you may instead want to use Cold Turkey Blocker from the same developer)
Try it:
Price: Free. Pro version ($9) adds themes, font formatting, productive soundtracks, etc.
Why: Simplest way to lock yourself into a full-screen writing program when you need to focus - like transforming your computer to a typewriter. Does not collect any user data.
What it can do:
- a full-screen, minimalistic writing program that you cannot leave until (a) you have typed a specific number of words, (b) a specific length of time has passed
- you can read a text file into the program, so that you can use it to, e.g., do focused work on an essay draft for 30 minutes
Cons: Only useful when you don’t need anything else than a writing program. No formatting options in free version.
Try it:
Price: Blocking features require a Premium plan, which costs $9/month or $54/year
Why: Good scheduling functionality by integrating with your calendar
What it can do:
- RescueTime’s main thing is time tracking, but the Premium version also has easy-to-use website blocking
- you can easily start a ‘FocusTime’ block manually, sync it with your calendar, or have it kick in when certain criteria are met (e.g. turn it on for the rest of the day after you’ve spent 30 minutes on social media)
Cons: Can’t block applications, only websites
Price: Free
Why: Simple alternative to Apple’s Screen Time for website blocking
What it can do:
- easily add websites to a block list
Cons: Can’t block apps or add friction to override the blocking
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Simple and reliable. Free and open source.
What it can do:
- create lists of websites to block, then initiate blocking via a simple slide
Cons: Only blocks websites. Only available on Mac
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Made by Apple, so it’s built-in on iOS and Mac. Only option for blocking functionality on iPhones and iPads.
What it can do:
- set time limits for a category of apps (e.g., Games or Social Networking) or for individual apps or websites
- block apps and notifications during scheduled periods (‘Downtime’)
Cons: Limited scheduling functionality - you cannot set e.g. multiple block times on the same day. On Mac, it requires Mac OS Catalina or higher
Price: Free plan (remember to cancel paid subscription within first week!), £8.49/month, £89.99/year
Why: Apple’s Screen Time is very limited. Opal is a well-designed alternative.
What it can do:
- block apps or websites
- begin blocking manually, or automatically at specified times
- set daily usage limits
- can be sync’ed with a Chrome extension to block websites
Cons: Pushy with paid options. Can require a little trial and error to get it setup right
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Highest rated free blocker on Chrome Web Store & Firefox add-ons store. Does not collect user data. Open-source.
What it can do:
- block websites
- begin a blocking session manually, or set up an automatic blocking schedule
- alternatively, set a countdown timer that delay your access to websites instead of completely blocking them
- set a password for its options page, to slow you down in moments of weakness where you want to override it
Cons: Only blocks websites in the Chrome browser.
Android
One of the best options for blocking on Android. Blocks apps & websites. Powerful customisation.
Price: TBC
Why: Highly rated & reviewed on the Google Play Store. Has received positive feedback from ReDD workshop participants.
What it can do:
- block apps, websites, and keywords in browser URL
- begin blocking manually, or automatically at specified times
- set daily usage limits
Cons: Some features may require in-app purchases (?).
Try it:
Android
Simplest option on Android (if it’s compatible with your version of Android!)
Price: Free
Why: Made by Google, so it’s well-designed and possibly pre-installed on your Android device
What it can do:
- limit how much time you spend in an app or on a website each day
- block distracting apps on session-basis, or set up a schedule so that distractions are automatically blocked during specific hours
Cons: May only work on Android version 10 and up
Price: Free
Why: Free and open-source. Simple way to reduce visual clutter and stay focused
What it can do:
- instantly blank or dims the parts of a web page or background windows that you are not focusing on
Cons: None
Why: Nothing to install, simply a functionality to be familiar with
What it can do:
- a basic trick for minimising visual distraction when working on laptop is to place apps you need in full screen mode
Cons: None
Try it:
- on Mac, click the green full-screen button to make an app run in full-screen - or click and hold to place two app windows side by side
- in the Safari browser on laptop, make a window full-screen, then click ‘View’ and untoggle ‘Always Show Toolbar in Full Screen’ (to make the toolbar appear again, bring your cursor to the top of the screen)
Price: Free
Why: Nothing to install, simply a functionality to be familiar with
What it can do:
- if you use Microsoft Word, be aware that it has a ‘focus mode’ built in, which hides visual distractions
Cons: None
Try it:
- go to ‘View’ in the ribbon and click ‘Focus’, or click the ‘focus’ button at the bottom of an open document
Price: $4.99
Why: Simple way to reduce visual clutter and stay focused
What it can do:
- automatically highlights the front app window by dimming all background windows
- dimming amount is customisable
Cons: None
Try it:
Mac
PC
iPhone / iPad
Android
Decide what content should be allowed to interrupt you
Why: Nothing to install, simply a systems setting to be familiar with
What it can do:
- go over your notifications settings and carefully consider which apps you will allow to notify you - toggle off any notifications you do not need
Cons: No immediate downsides.
Try it:
- on iOS, go to Settings -> Notifications
- on Android, go to Settings -> Apps & notifications -> Notifications
Mac
PC
iPhone / iPad
Android
Guard your daily routine against interruptions
Why: Nothing to install, simply a systems setting to be familiar with
What it can do:
- schedule Do Not Disturb, so that during certain hours (e.g. 9pm to 8am) only calls from your favorite contacts go through directly:
- alternatively, manually toggle on Do Not Disturb when you need to focus
Cons: If you easily worry about missing something important, it requires a little care in setting it up, so that the things you do want to let through always are in fact let through.
Try it:
- set up schedule: on iOS go to Settings > Do Not Disturb ; on Android, swipe down from the top of your screen to open the notification shade, press and hold the Do Not Disturb icon, then open up ‘more settings’
- manual toggle: on iOS, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open up control center, then select the moon-shaped Do Not Disturb icon ; on Android, swipe down from the top of your screen to open the notification shade, and select the Do Not Disturb icon
Track yourself
Track yourself
Understand how you use your devices
Use a tracking tool to see how you spend your time
Focus in bursts with a timer
Use a countdown timer to help you focus – decide what you’ll do and for how long
Price: Free, or paid (keep access to all historical data + get the blocking features; $9/month, $54/year)
Why: Very well reviewed in tech magazines and blogs. User-friendly. You can download your data. Does not sell or share your data.
What it can do:
- tracks time spent on your laptop or desktop computer and automatically categorises it in ‘productive’ and ‘not productive’ time
- receive weekly & annual summaries, and see how your patterns of use have changed over time
- can also block websites
Cons: Few, apart from the general limitation that understanding your own behaviour often isn’t sufficient to change it.
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Made by Apple, so it’s built-in on iOS and Mac.
What it can do:
- allows you to inspect your use on iOS and Mac
- if you have multiple Apple devices, you can see your combined usage
Cons: Limited ability to analyse your data
Try it:
- to inspect your use: on iOS go to Settings -> Screen Time; on Mac go to System Preferences -> Screen Time
- to combine use across devices, on your iOS devices go to Settings -> Screen Time, then toggle on Share Across Devices
Android
Simplest option on Android (if it’s compatible with your version of Android!)
Price: Free
Why: Made by Google, so it’s well-designed and possibly pre-installed on your Android device
What it can do:
Get a daily view of your digital habits:
- How frequently do you use different apps?
- How many notifications do you receive?
- How often do you check your phone or unlock your device?
Cons: Limited ability to analyse your data
Try it:
Price: Free (in-app purchases & ads)
Why: Highest ratings & most reviews among time tracking apps on Google Play
What it can do:
- view charts and statistics of your usage history
- notify you when you are spending more time in an app than a set limit
- export your usage history to CSV or Microsoft Excel file
Cons: Does not tell you which exact websites you spend time on within a specific web browsing app.
Try it:
Price: Free. Pro version: $0.99 (removes banners and ads).
Why: Very highly rated on the Apple App Store.
What it can do:
- on iOS, provides a simple countdown interface, along with a todo-list and usage history
- on Mac, adds a simple icon to your menu bar that you can click to set yourself a task you’ll do and start a countdown timer
Cons: None.
Price: Free
Why: Highly rated on the Firefox Add-ons Store. Open-source.
What it can do:
- adds a toolbar icon, which can be clicked to start a timer
- you can see the number of minutes remaining on the countdown on the toolbar icon
Cons: Timer only appears on your web browser.
Price: Free
Why: Very highly rated on the Chrome Web Store
What it can do:
- super minimalistic pomodoro timer: adds a little toolbar icon with a red countdown timer
- click this icon to start or stop a countdown timer; right click it to see your history or configure the timer durations
Cons: Timer only appears on your web browser. May be too minimalistic.
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Very highly rated on the Google Play store
What it can do:
- minimalistic pomodoro timer with immersive full-screen mode
- customisable in most ways you might want (focus & break length, timer styles, daily reminders, notification sounds)
Cons: None.
Try it:
Keep your goals in mind
Keep your goals in mind
Delay distracting apps and websites
Take a deep breath and stay mindful before you start using a distracting app or website
Put quotes or to-do’s on new tabs or websites
Use a browser extension to change the content of new tabs or distracting websites
Redirect yourself away from distracting sites
Use a browser extension to send you to a useful website when you open a distracting one
Get pop-up or task bar reminders of your goals
Get the nudge you need, when you need it, where you need it
Android
iPhone / iPad
Safari
Firefox
Chrome
Delay the opening of specific apps or websites by a few seconds to remind yourself why you’re using it
Price: Free. Paid plan (GBP 9.99/year) lets you apply it to an unlimited number of apps, change to other prompts, and more
Why: Very highly rated on the Google Play and Apple App stores. Evidence-based
What it can do:
- delay the opening of a distracting app or website with a few seconds
- shows you how many times you’ve opened the app/website within the last 24hrs and asks if you still want to continue
Cons: None
Price: Free (in-app purchases)
Why: Very highly rated on the Apple App store
What it can do:
- replaces the content of new tabs with a customisable start page with an inspirational image and your main focus for the day
Cons: Depending on how you use your browser, you may prefer to see recently visited websites, or other information, on new tabs.
Try it:
Firefox
Customise new tabs with motivational photos, quotes, to-do, or other things on new tabs
Price: Free
Why: On the list of ‘recommended extensions’ curated by Firefox staff.
What it can do:
- replaces the content of new tabs with a motivational photo or image, but highly customisable
- add also e.g. to-do lists or quick notes, work hours to count down the day, etc.
Cons: None
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Very highly rated on the Chrome Web Store
What it can do:
- replaces the content of new tabs with a clean and simple to-do list
Cons: Depending on how you use your browser, you may prefer to see recently visited websites, or other information, on new tabs.
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Very highly rated on the Chrome Web Store
What it can do:
- shows a new motivational quote every time you open a new tab - replaces the default content of new tabs
Cons: Depending on how you use your browser, you may prefer to see recently visited websites, or other information, on new tabs.
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Very highly rated on the Chrome Web Store
What it can do:
- works on YouTube and Twitter (it used to work on Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites, but needs an update)
- replaces YouTube’s video recommendations, and Twitter’s feed, with a to-do list
- when you have completed all to-do’s, you unlock the recommendations / feed for 5 minutes
Cons: The developer noted on Jan 4, 2021 that he will update it to work again on Facebook, but has yet to do so.
Try it:
Safari
Set a target page that you’re redirected to whenever you go to a distracting website
Price: Free. Paid version (GBP 1.99 / year or GBP 3.49 one-time purchase) lets you sync rules across your iOS devices.
Why: Highly rated on the Apple App Store
What it can do:
- set up your own redirect rules
Cons: Only applies to Safari
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: A new tool on the Firefox Add-ons store that provides a simple solution for setting a goal and keep returning to it
What it can do:
- set a target webpage — the one you want to focus on — then block the sites that are distracting you away from it
- next time you try to access a site that you’ve blocked, Nudge will send you right back to your target page
Cons: Cannot block sites in bulk
Try it:
Price: Free
Why: Highly rated on the Chrome Web Store
What it can do:
- set up ‘wormholes’ on distracting sites: either (1) Redirect (takes you to a more productive site which you specify), (2) Quote (shows a motivational quote), or (3) Timer (shows the time you’ve spent on the site today)
Cons: Only applies to Chrome
Try it:
Make your goals attractive
Make your goals attractive
Set up reward or punishment
Add a reward for staying focused, e.g. by protecting a virtual plant or animal
Go grey scale
Turn your phone in grayscale mode to avoid visual distraction from shiny icons
Move distracting apps out of sight
Reduce visual distraction and mindless use by moving apps off the homescreen
Write under time pressure
Set a time or word goal, then begin typing – if you stop early, everything is deleted
Price: $1.99 on Apple App Store
Free on Google PlayWhy: One of the most used (10M+ installs) and praised productivity apps on the Google Play, Chrome Web, and Apple App stores
What it can do:
- essentially a gamified productivity timer:
- plant a tree and set a duration of time where you want to focus and not use your smartphone / distracting websites (Chrome)
- If you stay focused without getting distracted before the time is up, you’ll get a beautiful, healthy tree; if you cannot resist using your phone, your tree will die
- grow your personal forest over time by being focused
Cons: Some people might not find it motivating.
Try it:
Price: Free (in-app purchases)
Why: The most highly rated and reviewed alternative to Forest on the Apple App store
What it can do:
- similar to Forest: (1) plant a tree and set a duration of time where you want to focus and not use your smartphone, (2) if you commit to your task without getting distracted before the time is up, you’ll get a beautiful, healthy tree; if you cannot resist using your phone, your tree will wither, (3) unlock new trees over time by succesfully focusing
- multiple people can sync with each other and grow trees together
Cons: Some people might not find it motivating.
Try it:
Why: No need to install anything, it’s a simple systems setting
What it can do:
- app icons and notifications markers are designed to be eye-catching - putting your phone in grey scale can tone down their allure.
- Note that for this to be useful, you need to be able to toggle it on and off easily, because you will want to turn colour back on for some functionality (like maps)
Cons: Might be tedious to toggle on and off, when colour is needed.
Try it:
- on iPhone / iPad with a Home button, set a triple-tap on the Home button to toggle grey scale on and off, by going to: Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > Colour Filters
- on iPhone / iPad without a Home button, set a double tap on the back of your phone to toggle grey scale on and off, by going to: Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > Touch > Back Tap -> Double Tap > Accessibility Shortcut
- on Android (v11+) add a gray scale toggle to your quick settings: (1) from the top of your screen, swipe down twice, (2) at the bottom left, tap Edit (3) touch and hold the grayscale symbol, then drag to where you want it
Why: No need to install anything, it’s simply about organising your device layout.
What it can do:
- arrange your apps so that the home screen is minimalistic and simple, and the apps you want to use less often require a bit more effort to get to.
- for example, try limiting your first page of apps to only apps you use for quick in-and-out tasks - move the rest, especially those you find yourself using mindlessly, off the first page and put them in folders
Cons: None.
Try it:
- if you normally open apps by searching for them, then you can stop that app from showing up in search, such that you instead have to go find it where you placed it on your phone
iOS: go to Settings > scroll down to the relevant app (e.g. Safari) > Siri & Search > turn off ‘Show App in Search’ and ‘Suggest App’
Price: ~$10 on Apple App Store
Why: Loads of critical acclaim in tech magazines and very highly rated on the Apple App Store
What it can do:
- choose how long you want to write (5, 15, 30 min), then enter a flow session.
- if you exit early, or stop typing for longer than five seconds, all progress is lost
- the only way to save your work is by writing until the timer ends.
- in this way, the app forces you into a state of flow
Cons: Only useful for specific writing purposes.
Try it:
Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Harsh but effective way to quickly get in a writing flow
Price: Free
Why: Positive reviews in magazines from Wired to Lifehacker; nothing to install - just visit it in your web browser
What it can do:
- simulates the feeling of being so close to a deadline that you just need to keep going to get our your first draft
- if you stop typing for more than a few seconds before your reach your goal (typing for a number of minutes, or typing a number of words), everything is deleted.
- very useful in those writing situations where you just need to bash out a rough draft, which you will then edit afterwards
Cons: Only useful for specific writing purposes.
Try it:
- go to the website, set a time or word goal, then begin typing
Go analogue
Go analogue
Use your laptop for 2-factor authentication
So you can leave your smartphone at home when you work
Block access to your laptop
For tech-free leisure time
Price: Free
Why: Leaving your smartphone at home can be simple and effective. But Multi-Factor Authentication makes it difficult, because you use your phone to log in to Oxford services
What it can do:
- use your laptop for multi-factor authentication device, via an app you install on it, or a physical USB you plug into it
- it is then sufficient for you to bring your laptop to the library
Cons: May be slightly less secure, because an attacker with access to your physical laptop and its password could access your Oxford services
Try it:
- Follow the instructions from the Oxford University IT services:
Price: Free: block on session basis.
Pro ($39, one-time): schedule blocks.
Why: Works on Windows + Mac. Very powerful and flexible blocking and scheduling. Does not collect user data.
What it can do:
- ‘Frozen Turkey’ mode lets you block your computer entirely
- initiate it manually until a specific time, or set a weekly schedule
Cons: Creating a weekly block schedule requires the paid version.
Try it: