I keep seeing the same pattern with distraction blockers.
They either block the whole app, which is too blunt, or they rely on willpower, which is not a system.
For developer work, that misses the real problem. I do not always want to block YouTube, Reddit, X, or Instagram completely. Sometimes I need the useful part:
- a specific docs page
- a tutorial
- a search result
- a customer DM
- a creator's profile
The thing that breaks focus is usually not the domain. It is the feed.
A feed is different from a tool because it has no natural stopping point. You open it for one valid reason and ten minutes later your brain is several tabs away from the original task.
So the rule I have been building around is simple:
Leave the useful surface alone. Block the infinite surface.
That means a focus blocker should care about paths and page types, not just app names.
A few examples:
- allow a direct YouTube video, block the homepage and Shorts
- allow a specific Reddit thread, block r/all and subreddit feeds
- allow X search or a profile when needed, block the home feed
- allow Instagram DMs, block Reels and explore
This feels less heroic than "quit social media," but it is much easier to keep turned on.
That is the idea behind Monk Mode, a small Mac focus app I am building for feed-level blocking instead of all-or-nothing blocking: https://mac.monk-mode.lifestyle
The more I use it, the more I think the best productivity tools are not the ones that demand a new personality. They just remove the one trap door you keep falling through.
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