At other times, however, I like to listen to something while I work. Sometimes I work in silence for instance, I don’t listen to anything when I read in the mornings. Also helps with meditation and sleep, and includes lots of ambient soundscapes.

Tide – my favorite mobile focus timer app.

Tomato Timer – free, online focus timer.

This lets me disconnect the internet if needed, and to keep my phone in another room while I’m working. It lives in my Mac toolbar, and it doesn’t require my phone or the internet.

Be Focused – the timer app I typically use these days.

Here are a few tools you can use for this purpose. Compared to simply committing to “working for 25 minutes” mentally, using a timer is much more effective at keeping you on task. In addition to tracking the time you’re working, it also provides you with an external commitment device. Your brain will resist a task less when you commit to working for a specific, doable amount of time.

Cold Turkey – another full-featured website and distraction blocker.

I also recommend their Pause extension, which forces you to wait a few seconds before accessing a distracting website (even if you’re not running a block session on Freedom). I can either start a timed focus session (my go-to) or set up pre-scheduled blocks during each day. It blocks websites and apps on my computer perfectly.

Freedom (affiliate link) – this is the distraction blocker that I use personally.

I highly recommend using a distraction blocker to do so, especially if your work requires using an internet-connected computer.

Distraction Blockersĭistractions are infinitely easier to deal with if you remove them in advance. Need to focus? Here’s a toolbox full of resources that will help you do it successfully.

Remove cold turkey block