I would like to limit use of distracting websites and apps. Specifically Reddit, Instagram, and Youtube. I use an Android phone but can’t for the life of me, find a way to do this. I tried RescueTime but I could not figure out how to group these websites/apps into a specific category and beemind them. There was an entertainment category (or some equivalent), but it also tracked things like Spotify and Camera. I don’t want that. I want a custom category with those three websites. Is that doable with ResueTime, or with another beeminder integration?
3 Likes
Suspect you’re not the only one facing this challenge. That might’ve been why I stopped using RescueTime. Apple’s screen time tracker isn’t hugely better because it also auto-categorises things differently than I would.
Some apps have helpful features; on iPhone the Apollo for Reddit app has a ‘paged’ mode that combats the urge to infinitely scroll, unaware of passing time. For me, I really hate ads, so youtube itself often gets me to quit the app because I’d rather not watch what they’re forcing on me.
3 Likes
may not be what you want to do with this one but there is an app called Stay Focused. This can limit app and website usage with opitions such as usage limit, specific time intervals, quick block, number of launches, wait timer and goal based option (block until used educational apps for 10 minutes).
There is no beeminder integration with this but this might cover the issue of limiting distracting apps.
3 Likes
This is an old post but I figured I’d share what works for me for my Android phone, in case it’s helpful for anyone else. I hardly ever use my phone to go on distracting websites. This is how: You want to make it as inconvenient/annoying as possible to use these sites. Using these apps needs to be user-unfriendly.
- Uninstall apps like Reddit, Instagram, YouTube.
- Sign out of your accounts on your browser.
- If you want to take it a step further – this is not for everyone, but it’s been working well for me for years – uninstall or disable your browser app. When I first did this, I loaded Kindle books on my phone instead. My books read went up drastically! To be honest, this is probably the main reason I’m able to read a decent number of books most years. If you’re not a reader, you could get another hobby/interest app that you consider an okay substitute distraction (The Chess.com app or the Kindle app are a couple of examples).
- Some Android phones like Google (and I believe Motorola as well) come with the Digital Wellbeing app. This lets you put different time limits on specific apps. It’s highly customizable. So I put 5 mins on apps I can easily get lost in, like Yelp, Wikipedia, etc.
- I put the Focus mode of my phone on a schedule to block certain apps from 945 or 10pm (the time I start winding down for bed) to 10am (a time by when I have reached work). I set it so it does this Sunday night-Thursday night.
- My phone display is set to automatically go into Grayscale mode from 945 to my wake-up time. This is Sunday night-Thursday night as well.
Hope these help someone. Feel free to add other ideas!
3 Likes
I have tried various things along these lines (e.g. uninstalling chrome) but have settled instead on the solution of increasing the barrier to take out my phone. For example, I usually keep my phone in my backpack, or charging on the other side of the room, instead of in my pocket or the desk in front of me.
4 Likes
genius! I’m a big fan of physical reminders in my environment, and making it less convenient to access something definitely counts.
@bee got me using a manual coffee grinder, because it adds a bit of friction to the process of making yet another coffee. She also got me onto mostly-decaf at home; I’ve settled into a 4:1 ratio of decaf to caffeinated beans because it’s easy to buy a 1kg bag of one and a 250g bag of the other
4 Likes