Try the delightfully terrifying SelfControl app. Or the much less terrifying Pomodoro Technique. Or both. Cut the distractions, and watch your focus and productivity skyrocket.
The Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by short breaks and longer breaks following the completion of four work periods. Each working interval is called a pomodoro, which is the Italian word for tomato.
The Pomodoro Technique has five steps:
- Choose your task and choose the total time you want to work on it.
- Set a timer to 25 minutes (you can use the stopwatch on your phone).
- Work on the task for 25 minutes.
- Take a 5-minute break and then start another Pomodoro.
- Take a 20-30 minute break after completing four Pomodoros.
The SelfControl App
No, it’s not a typo. SelfControl is one word when it’s a Mac app that blocks access to email and websites (including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) for whatever amount of time you stipulate.
From their website: “SelfControl is a free and open-source application for macOS that lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the Internet. Just set a period of time to block for, add sites to your blocklist, and click ‘Start.'”
To block Facebook, for example, add the domain name (facebook.com) to your SelfControl block list, set the block duration (for example, 1 hour), and click Start.
PC users: You can try a popular alternative, BlockSite. Disclaimer: I have never tried BlockSite.
Set SelfControl for 15 minutes, an hour, two. Set it for an entire day if you like. Remember, though, once you run the app, you can’t turn it off, not even by restarting your Mac or deleting the app. With that thought in mind, I suggest you test it out for a 15-minute timeframe vs. a day-long deal.
The Pomodoro Technique PLUS the SelfControl App
Can you use both at the same time? A client asked me this question, and let’s just say my MIND. WAS. BLOWN. Yeah, you can, and since my client asked this question I’ve been using both simultaneously.
Cut out the distractions. Watch your focus skyrocket. And remember: once you’ve blocked Facebook for a day, throwing your MacBook across the room won’t bring Facebook back any faster. Also, don’t block my website, or you won’t be able to read about my Eat, Pray, Love fantasy life, how I find dates at the grocery store, or the kid who called me bro.
Now go on and be productive,