No More Distractions, Android Phone!

July 28, 2018 5:29 PM

Does such an app or phone setup exist? Want to block everything except for phone, text messages, and email for hours at a time, preferably on a schedule. Maybe very limited web browsing - like no more than 5 minutes at a time.

I have a job (and arguably a social life) that requires me to have a smart phone, but I lose hours to YouTube and random web browsing - I want to force it out of my life.

posted by jander03 to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

I use the Forest app. You pick how long you want to concentrate and what apps you want to be allowed to use while you're working (I have Spotify whitelisted and that's about it). It keeps track of how long you've concentrated and plants a little forest for you! It automatically puts your phone on Do Not Disturb if it's not already but I don't know that it can entirely block all notifications.
posted by polychromie at 6:02 PM on July 28, 2018 [3 favorites]

Clearlock works well. You can choose what to block, and for how long. I think you need the paid version to schedule blocks ahead of time.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 7:18 PM on July 28, 2018 [1 favorite]

I use (Offtime) for this. It works quite well and can optionally track your usage, in addition to blocking apps.
posted by matildatakesovertheworld at 11:35 AM on July 29, 2018

Freedom. It syncs to your other devices but you can choose which schedules impact which devices. (e.g. no shopping sites on your laptop during the work day, no social media on your phone except between 7 and 8 pm, etc.)
posted by AFABulous at 12:25 PM on July 29, 2018 [1 favorite]