How to Use Blocking Apps in a Rational Way
What to look for or expect while downloading or purchasing blocking software
I devour too much self-help content while hardly applying any of it in real life. Being bone-deep in self-sabotage, I realized I could have used my time better by practising even a morsel of the content I’d consumed. Thus began my journey of experimenting with and circumventing, countless blocking applications and browser extensions.
Albeit, I’m still learning, I’ve finally settled on which app and website blockers I’ll continue to use for a very long time- Stay Focused on my Android devices and 1Focus on Mac. I’m yet to discover a good one for the iPadOS or iOS. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
Before I begin, I’d like to clarify that I’m writing about these apps only because I’ve derived great value from them over the last 3.5 years (and still counting). The focus of this article is how to use blocking apps in a rationalistic way and what to look for or expect while downloading or purchasing one. I’ll share my experiences with 1Focus and Stay Focused as examples.
Choose a website blocker that you cannot bypass
- The easiest way to bypass a blocking app is to uninstall it.
- Choose a blocking app that can control your phone’s admin settings- may sound controversial to many, but someone heavily struggling with procrastination would know the benefits of this barrier.
- While it’s running, make sure that you cannot uninstall it.
- Strict mode on Stay Focused solves this purpose
- For 1Focus, you’ll need to block the Activity Monitor on Mac to prevent yourself from uninstalling the blocking app in the throes of your cravings.
Download all the essential applications from the App Store or Play store and block the latter
- The “uninstall distracting apps” advice never works for those who don’t mind two simple clicks to re-download their favorite apps.
- Your search history makes this process easier.
When you have an entire store at your disposal, it defeats the very purpose of app blockers.
- You cannot afford to not block these application stores.
- Keep only the most essential apps downloaded on your laptop/phone before you activate the blocker.
Whitelist essential websites instead of blacklisting the distractions
- Working with what you know is easier than working with what you don’t know.
- You’ll invest very little time in making a short white list as opposed to the many unknown distractions which you may have to think about or are yet to discover.
- Bulk blocking websites- even entire categories, can be a productivity blessing in disguise. It does not spare even seemingly harmless entities like manga websites.
- 1Focus supports this on Safari, Chrome, Opera, Edge, and Brave.
Never wait too long, never aim too far
Once I watch this cat video, I’ll go MIA on YouTube.
How often have you procrastinated on even initializing the app blocker? A million excuses later, I set these ground rules to try & combat this problem-
- Don’t think too much.
- Just go MIA (Missing in action) for a short duration
- Let the range be from 3 days to a week.
- Be back. It doesn’t have to be a prolonged hermitage from social media.
- Keep experimenting to see what works best for you.
If you take too long to decide, your brain will try to fool you into procrastinating even more. The moment you make the decision to go MIA for an extended period, your brain instantly resists.
Downtimes are non-negotiable
- While setting the duration of the block on 1Focus, keep a no-block time.
- It’s best if this slot is kept at the end of the day when you’re done with all your tasks.
- Minutes- Keep this duration in minutes only.
- Procrastinate freely during the downtime.
- I learned this the hard way after missing the registration dates for a highly sought-after, no-fee exam.
Over enthusiasm can be technologically paralyzing
- You may be tempted to go into it all at once. You may decide to uninstall Spotify and other truly harmless apps. You don’t want to do this, trust me.
- Never block or uninstall your payments or SMS app. I took it too far and did this. It was a two-month nightmare.
Short duration blocks
- If you’re not enthusiastic about a daily fixed duration block, you can always adjust the number of hours.
- You’ll need your willpower only to bypass that perfection-seeking limbic system to start the app blocker.
- Stay Focused allows time-limits for every app separately while 1Focus has presets which allow you to try your combinations.
Reward systems
- Stay Focused on Android set the bar higher by introducing the concept of Goal-Based app blocking.
- You can set a fixed number of hours required to spend on the productive apps daily.
- Only when you achieve your goal, will the app lift the block from your favorite time-killers for the day.
Automated block durations
- 1Focus allows the entry of pre-decided time slots for activating blocks.
- It’s great for focussing on routine tasks or deep work sessions.
- It’s a boon for anyone who’d like to rely less on their willpower until it’s absolutely necessary or to preserve it for situations that have no other alternatives.
Singularly harnessing your willpower to block distractions, becomes a luxury when you have to prepare for a 19 subjects/3 hour examination encompassing 4.5 years of Medical School & 1 year of Internship. These focus apps came to my rescue when I was voraciously reading to cope with personal issues. Their free versions have a lot to offer and whether you’re a master procrastinator or a productivity Zen master, they’re totally worth a try! Here’s a step-by-step explainer video for the 1Focus app-
Thank you for your time!
Disclaimer: None of these apps have any affiliate programs.
