Simple command to block distracting websites [Productivity]

For Linux based systems

Step 1: Open terminal
Step 2: Open the hosts file sudo vi /etc/hosts
Step 3: Add websites you want to block and save

127.0.0.1 facebook.com
127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
127.0.0.1 web.facebook.com

For windows

The host file location(step 2) is> C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
everything else is the same

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Comments

[iCart]

Someone made this into a single simple command, here:

github.com/timothycrosley/concentr...

Tested and approved, i have been using it for a while now.

[Barry⚡]

Yikes! Better.

[Pradeep Sharma]

Here you go:

sudo su
echo "127.0.0.1 facebook.com" >> /etc/hosts
echo "127.0.0.1 website.you.want.to.block" >> /etc/hosts

Will work very well to block a website. Unblocking the website will need more sophisticated version of this by having conditional statements and patterns to remove the matching entries. I prefer editing the file, it's much faster and neat.

[Argyrios Samourkasidis]

I was thinking of having two /etc/hosts files:

a. one that blocks distracting websites
b. a "normal" one

Also, a cron job (?) that is running twice:

a. in the morning to activate the "blocking" one (renaming?)
b. in the afternoon (after work anyway) to activate the "normal" one

[Pratik Ambani]

Was thinking about the same but dunno how...
How? 😀

[Tokhir Dadaev]

I prefer stayfocusd:
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/...

[Aaron Chamberlain]

If your on MacOS, it's even easier to just use something like the app "Self Control" you can either blacklist or whitelist a website for a set period of time, with no way to turn it off, even at restart.

[Parv Jain]

make sure you clear your browser cache after doing it.

[Ивелин Тенев]

We may need to extend that list with entries for twitter.com and dev.to :D

[Valentin Vago]

and you can also block a bunch of tracking websites with that technic.

someonewhocares.org/hosts

[Jernej Sila]

I tried this couple of months ago! Figured out social logins don't work anymore. I settled with custom userscripts (tempermonkey/greasemonkey) that removes body from html upon visiting website.