Once he was able to connect to the Internet, he found himself spending less time on his dissertation and more time checking his Facebook. Up until then, Stutzman could go to the coffee shop to focus on his work. Fred Stutzman was inspired to create the Internet-blocking software in 2008, when the coffee shop he usually worked in started providing customers with free Wi-Fi. 'We're the only that goes anywhere near this far to keep people from turning it off,' says Stigler.įreedom is another popular anti-distraction app, but it goes even further than SelfControl and prevents users from connecting to the Internet at all. Even if you restart your computer or delete the app from your hard drive, the blocked sites remain off-limits until the timer runs out. And when founding developer Charlie Stigler created it, he made sure the software would be resistant to users' attempts to cheat. SelfControl is a free Mac application that lets you block specific websites for up to 24 hours.
Social media sites have gotten so difficult to ignore that millions of people are using apps to stop them from wasting time on the Internet. Need to focus? Apps are available to block you from distraction.
