Between researching and writing this article, I’ve checked Facebook at least five times, Instagram ten times, and Snapchat too many times to count. My urge to see what the rest of the world is up to served as a constant distraction and broke my concentration. Plus, it took me way longer to write this article than necessary. But, alas I somehow still (barely) made my deadline. What I really could have used was an application that blocks social media from both my phone and computer. Luckily, some geniuses out there have developed a handful of apps that do just that.
Use Freedom to temporarily block distracting websites on your iPhone and iPad so you can focus on what matters most. Freedom users report gaining an.
It’s clear that I’m not alone in getting sucked into the deep black hole of procrastination and social media. If you’re anything like me, it might do you some good to turn on one of these apps to stop using, well, other apps for at least an hour or two. Credit: Fat Camera / Getty Images / Moment Reminder to live in the moment. Moment tracks how much you use your phone or tablet each day, and the results can be alarming. Once you know how much you're using certain apps, you can set daily limits and get a notification or force yourself to stop procrastinating with a flood of notifications. It’s annoying but it does work.
There’s even a “Moment Family” option, which allows you to track your family's usage—and even set limits during dinner or homework time. Credit: Flipd Once you're locked out, that's it.
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For those of us who need a huge push when it comes to cutting back on screen time, Flipd may be the right app for the job. Once you lock certain apps on your phone for a set period of time, there’s no going back. You might be able to disable other apps by restarting your phone, but not Flipd, making it the ultimate distraction stopper. It might sound intense, but once you get your work done, you’ll definitely be more appreciative of the time you spent distraction-free. Get Flipd for and (Free) 4.
Credit: SelfControl / Peter Chernaev / Getty Images We all know we don't have self control. Your computer is the greatest machine to get work done, but it's also the biggest source of distraction. SelfControl is an app for MacOS that allows you to block access to websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the internet. By creating a blacklist of sites and choosing a set amount of time to block, you’ll improve productivity until the time is up. Warning: During this time you will be unable to access what you blocked—even if you restart your computer or delete the application.