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( OFFTIME ) - Distraction Free?
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Popularity Score: 18
This app was mentioned in 47 comments, with an average of 1.38 upvotes
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Here you go:
(OFFTIME)-Distraction Free
Forest: Stay Focused
Yours seems like a perfect mix to me, but an "Event Schedule" might be a good addition, where I can set specific days/times for my apps to be locked. I like that you have to reboot to be able to use the apps again. Some other apps make it way too easy to stop it.
I'm on M Preview 3
Some pretty interesting stuff here.
Does anyone know if there is a similar thing for Android? I have a problem of dicking around on reddit/facebook/instagram when I'm in bed at night and when I wake up in the morning and it wastes a lot of time. It would be nice if I could set my phone to not allow me to use those applications or access those sites between the hours of 10pm and 8am on weekdays. Is there a solution for this?
I was thinking about doing the DD-WRT solution the other guy was talking about, but I could still use LTE on my phone.
edit: in case anyone is wondering, I found a really well-made app for just this use. It's called ( OFFTIME ) and it lets you block apps, calls, etc for scheduled periods of time. It has a ton of other nice features as well. I'm going to give it a shot.
I like to use (OFFTIME) for Android. It let's me block access to distracting apps for a set period of time but can allow others, like a music app. You can also block all but a few selected contacts from calling or messaging.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit
Hey sorry! I don't know how to develop that myself! but here's something like an apology.
What I found was that it's best to put your "fixed times" on a schedule. These things will be immovable times in your day. Be it work school or doctors appointments. Put that on some sort of calender app on your phone. Then, depending on the free time you get, plan out a to do list around these times. Do what you write down and what you don't get to do, do tomorrow. The way you should construct your to do list is to put it in a list of descending importance. Do the most important first and move down. Those that you don't get to do, move to the next day and upgrade your priority.
As I said before, that monkey guy already made and entire article that would help you more than what I could put into words. And it's probably more of the same. The only constructive thing I could tell you was to develop self control for sticking to your schedule.
If you have trouble with using your phone and computer excessively and ruining your schedule, I can recommend some apps too. This app is OFFTIME https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit Install it and add your productivity apps like Google Chrome and clanders as well as a music app. When you activate the timer your phone is effectively locked out of any and every app you didn't put in the white list. You can also make a schedule for when the timer turns on automatically. Cold turkey is for the computer. Cold Turkey https://getcoldturkey.com This app allows you to blacklist sites you waste time on. Once active, the timer cannot be stopped. Make a good blacklist and let it rip! Again an automatic schedule can be made if you get the premium.
Hope this was enough lol. Tell me how it goes. Your schedule. Good luck!
Offtime has been by far the best one that I've tried yet. You set a whitelist of apps you want to allow and everything else is blocked for the time period you set.
If you have an Android, I can recommend Offtime. The trial version will lock down your phone with a press of a button, the paid version has automatic profiles that turn on at certain times.
Offtime is pretty legit and has a hardcore mode which won't let you disable it until the time expires.
You can use Adguard to restrict certain sites in the same way as editing the hosts file. That way you can't visit the sites via the browser either. Then block Adguard so that you can't edit the blacklist.
Offtime is free, and the free version of Adguard can do everything you need. Both of these will work without root, unlike some other options.
I recommend Offtime Offtime (Android) for productive hours, it tracks your phone usage and even blocks the distracting apps such as Whatsapp during that period.
Is it an Android phone? Or is one of those dumb phones?
If it is Android, I can recommend one I used called Offtime. I've been using for some months and it's really great! You can block apps, phone calls and notifications at the same time, while allowing just the ones you actually use. You can set up a timer for certain amount of hours or a scheduled timer (paid version, £1 to £3 if I'm not wrong). Aside from the schedule, everything I mentioned is free. And to disable, you must wait 60 seconds, no matter what. If you restart your phone, it'll automatically pop up if it's on schedule.
I've been using an app called Offtime. During certain periods of the day, it'll block apps as I established in a given profile. If I don't get the paid version (which I think it's at least £1 to £5 or more), I can still set an amount of time to block my phone. But it also allow important apps, and important calls from your contact list (and say, blocks all other calls). If you try to open a blocked app while it's active, it'll give you an message like "Hey, let's pretend this didn't happen, okay?" with a cute angry monster icon and close the app.
The best part is that to disable it, I have to wait 60 seconds before doing so. So I just disable when I really have to use something that is blocked. It has been working like a charm for me, but I fear that it's only available for Android (the iOS app is getting pretty bad reviews, idk why though).
It can be a great combo with this app you mentioned. I'll be trying it out!
Install Adguard and add distracting sites to the blacklist (e.g facebook, reddit, etc).
Install Offtime to restrict access to specific apps, including Adguard to prevent you from disabling filtering during selected hours.
Set the profile to Wait mode so that it can't be disabled via restarting or uninstalling. This step might not be necessary after a while, but it will prevent you from constantly disabling filtering every time you want to check something at first.
Eliminate everything from your home screen other than basic tools. Access everything else from the app drawer.
Both links are for Android, but you can find the same apps on iOS also.
Oh sweet a Secure Settings replacement! You just keep delivering man.
But yeah while that idea of Tasker shortcuts isn't bad, I'd still prefer to hide the app completely. I currently just restrict the launch of the apps themselves at certain times (by going back to home every time I try to open them). There's even a neat little app called Offtime that can do it without Tasker. But my goal is still to remove the habit trigger completely by hiding the app.
Thank you for researching a dynamic widget. With Linkme, however, my home screen; app arrangement and size; becomes restricted to Linkme's setup. And running Linkme plugin crashes Tasker for me haha.
Oh, glad I saw this! You should check out (offtime), I use it a lot myself!
I also use cold turkey for my PC.
I have tried quite a few programs, and those two are my favorites.
If you're on Android, downlaod OFFTIME , it absolutely will not let you use your apps except for the ones you need as emergencies (you can select them). It does let you use basic phone functions like calling. But no matter what you try it will prevent you from using the apps that distract you the most for a set period of time.
I have a similar issue as OP, but while he's in a professional setting, I'm more of a student. Thank you for this detailed reply, I'll look into the Expectancy Theory and see if it can help me too. A lot of what you said applies to me, especially the fear and cortisol part.
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OP asked for tools and tips he can use, so here are a couple I use personally and like. Hopefully, you find a couple of these useful.
I found managing stress is the most important factor for my productivity. The more I sleep, meditate, and relax, the better I work (sleep being the most important of the three). Get a proper sleep schedule, such that you automatically sleep and wake up at the right times. This will impose hard limits on when you will start and stop your day so you can use this as a platform to schedule better as well as reducing most of that stress. Work with your circadian rhythm, not against it.
Op also mentioned wasting time on non-productive sites and apps. There are many tools to control your app and site usage. Id recommends you look into Freedom; this app is a blocker that enables a blacklist of apps and sites across your connected devices. If you activate it on one device, the profile runs in any other connected device as well. This is more powerful with an android phone as the app prevents you from using any of the blacklisted apps. The only problem is that it is a subscription service. If you don't like that, a good free alternative is cold-turkey blocker on PC with (OFFTIME) on android. I'm not familiar with IOS apps, unfortunately.
Finally, I wanted to note that most of what I feel I struggle with is self-control and directing myself towards a goal. If you're anything like me, To-Do list apps or general trackers may be good to keep track of what you're planning and what you want to do. Notion is one such service you can use to organize and structure everything in your life. It's very powerful, so do look into how it works.
In the end, the mindset makes the biggest difference. Understanding what u/improvementgeek stated above along with personalizing your mindset to work for you, in my opinion, is the most important factor for generating motivation and enhancing productivity. I haven't found that mindset yet, but hey we're all on the same journey! Good luck dude, I know you can do it!
if you're using Android I suggest https://offtime.es/ (or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit on the play store)
I was thinking more of a ( OFFTIME ) sorta app but better.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit
This works best for me...
Offtime - I have not used this but it appears to do what you want it to do!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit&hl=en
Try Offtime
Never found a good app/service that blocks only porn and is not easy to circumvent. What I use is Offtime, which allows you to block certain apps during certain periods. I use it to block the browser (and also social media and other entertainment apps) during working hours. A bit drastic, but it works. There are other apps doing something similar, such as QualityTime and AppBlock.
What about OffTime?
In case you're addicted to your phone, you could try out Offtime.