UPDATE: I don’t like it so much after all. For reasons that probably have more to do with me than with it.
The StayFocusd extension for Chrome is fantastic. I’ve thought about installing it several times and talked myself out of it every time. This time I didn’t. I really like it.
I set my ACTIVE hours between 7:30 am and 4 pm, 7 days a week, and blocked all the sites I visit when I should be concentrating on writing. I also turned on STEALTH MODE. I gave myself 15 minutes of time each day to browse my BLOCKED sites, after which the extension blocks all the sites until 4 pm.
I totally used up all my time before lunch today and had to cheat by using my phone when I was taking a break. I don’t want that to become a habit, but today was a different kind of day, so I forgive myself for that. Tomorrow I won’t be so lenient. The phone will stay upstairs, I think, until I’ve done my writing for the day—as will my Kindle.
I set up the NUCLEAR option for .45 hours (about 25 minutes) for use outside of those active hours, for days when I still need to write after 4 pm…
What I most like about this extension is that I don’t have to turn anything on, on a daily basis. It remembers those ACTIVE times and just works when it’s supposed to. I don’t have to think about whether or not I need it, or if I want to use it. It’s there, and I have 15 minutes I can use for breaks during the day.
My hope is that it will keep me from wasting away all my time online, on sites I really shouldn’t spend too much time on, and give me time to just let my mind rest. A week or so ago, I made a decision to stop reading so much junk online. I also want to read more fiction. It’s been hard to do that. I’m trying to make it easier. :)
*Had to block www.amazon.com, but allow kdp.amazon.com so that I can still publish my books during the daytime hours. :) Got that wrong the first day.