The Best Distraction Blockers to Reboot Your Focus in the New Year

If you’re having trouble staying on task or simply want to increase your productivity as the new year approaches, you can try several apps and extensions designed to help you focus by blocking distractions.

Whether you need to limit social media scrolling or block out time to be productive, these tools will help you stay focused. Here are some of the best options.

Freedom

If you want to block distractions on all your devices at once, Freedom is a good option. You can choose which websites and apps to block for a specific period of time. So if you’re working on your laptop and then try to open TikTok on your phone, you won’t be able to do so: you’ll instead see a green screen indicating that the app is blocked.

The app allows you to start a session immediately, schedule one for the future, or set a recurring one. If you know you need to be distraction-free at a certain time each day, you can set a Freedom session to start automatically at that specific time.

If your task does not require Internet access, you can block the Internet completely. You can also block all websites except those you need for work. If you really don’t have the confidence to do your job, you can use the app’s “locked mode”, which prevents you from ending a Freedom session early.

Pricing starts at $3.33 per month when billed annually or $8.99 per month when billed monthly, with a $199 lifetime subscription option. Freedom offers a seven-day free trial.

cold turkey

cold turkey This is a good option for people who need strict accountability. While many distraction blockers allow you to back off or “cheat”, Cold Turkey makes it almost impossible to stop a blocker once you start it.

You can block websites and apps, or even the entire Internet. Once you’ve selected what you want to block, you can set a timer for how long you want the block to run. Once blocking starts, you cannot stop it.

Cold Turkey has a “Frozen Turkey” mode that completely blocks you from accessing your computer. The app also lets you schedule breaks to get away from your computer. If you don’t trust gentler distraction blockers, this might be the tool you need to stay focused.

Cold Turkey’s basic features are free, but you can unlock scheduling and the ability to block apps in addition to websites for a one-time fee of $39.

Opal

Opal is a focus and screen time app that blocks distracting apps and websites on iPhone, Android, and desktop. You can create “focus blocks” – scheduled periods of time to prevent access to specific apps and websites. You can block entire categories like social media, games, and messaging.

You can set one-time blocks or create recurring sessions. For example, you can automatically block access to social networks and games during work or school hours.

Opal also lets you set daily usage limits for specific apps to prevent excessive scrolling. You’ll get a “focus score” indicating how much time you spend focused or distracted. The app provides real-time statistics and weekly reports to track your progress.

Opal’s basic features are free, but you can unlock unlimited recurring sessions, harder blocking difficulties, and more for $19.99 per month or $99 per year.

LeechBlock NG

Leech Block is a free browser extension for people who want an easy way to block distracting websites. The extension allows you to select which sites you want to block and then prevents your browser from loading them.

You can create multiple sets of blocks with different sites, times and limits. The extension allows you to set blocks at specific times of the day or trigger one-time blocks.

If you don’t want to completely block a site, you can set a countdown before the page loads. For example, you can set it so that visiting a site starts a 10-minute timer. You can still access the site after the countdown ends, but the delay may be enough to disrupt impulsive browsing habits.

It’s worth noting that since LeechBlock is a browser extension, you need to have a bit of willpower to avoid simply switching browsers to watch Netflix or browse X.

Forest

Forest gamifies productivity while supporting real-world environmental efforts. When you need to concentrate, you open the app and plant a virtual tree. The tree grows as you concentrate until the timer ends. If you exit the app early, the tree will wither and die.

You can set “Allow Lists” for different applications that you use to be productive, such as an email application or Microsoft Word. The app also lets you track your productivity.

Over time, you build a digital forest that represents your productivity. If you are competitive, you can share your forest with others and compare your progress. By staying focused and growing virtual trees, you earn coins that can be saved and used to help fund real tree planting projects around the world through the organization. Trees for the future.

Forest’s browser extension is free. The iOS app costs $3.99, while the Android app is free with ads or $1.99 to remove ads.