Apps to minimize computer/smartphone distractions?

[7thLetter]

What are some apps that you use with your smartphone or computer to minimize distractions?

Just wanted to share, I found this cool website blocking app called "Cold Turkey."

It's a program you install on your computer that works for almost all browsers. You download it, then within the app, it asks you to install an add-on for each browser (Firefox, Chrome, etc.)

I've tried a few add-on website blocking apps previously and none of them have been as good as this one. For example, other apps would let you block a website, but at the bottom of the page there's an option to unblock the site. But with Cold Turkey, it basically allows you to permanently block a site until a specific date. So what I did personally was search my entire history, blocked 40+ p-rn sites until March 2020. Giving myself 3 months without p-rn.

I was on Day 25 of semen retention today and relapsed. So much progress lost for completely nothing.

There's another great Firefox add-on for Youtube called "DF Youtube" which allows you to block out specific unnecessary parts of Youtube. So you can block out the comments, trending videos, recommended videos, etc. Personally I only have my subscription videos enabled and I never get sidetracked watching a bunch of recommended videos.

Highly recommend these apps to anyone.

[Nivsch]

@7thLetter Apps are surface level solution. You need to really SEE that computer and smartphone dont give much value for you and therefore you will want to use it in low doses. Watch videos about the importance of intuition, of having a times without distractions. Do meditation, mindfulness, yoga, self love exercises (Leo's and Teal Swan's videos about self love).

Edited December 11, 2019 by Nivsch

[Javfly33]

You are aware that the type of tool that you are looking for is the same that the tool you are looking to abstain from, right? 

[7thLetter]

@Nivsch @Javfly33 If the thread is clearly about the practical surface level solutions, then post about the practical surface level solutions! 

I’m not asking for your basic spiritual understanding on how to fix the issue. That’s the issue with this forum. People ask for specific practical answers on a practical topic, but they get “spiritual” answers from different forum users. If I want the spiritual answer then I’ll go and make the thread specifically about the spiritual discussion surrounding the issue, simple. I’m a straightforward person.

Spiritual tools are not the solution to all of life’s problems. It’s about implementing all sorts of tools into your development.

[Knock]

@7thLetter Both tools you mentioned are great, I have used them for a year and it has done wonders to reduce mindless web surfing. 

Other recommendations:

• Grayscale your phone/laptop 
• Add a long password to your phone/laptop
• Erase all icons from phone home screen or desktop. (For phone I use an app called KISS) 
• Physically putting your laptop away in the cupboard each time you are done using it. (Out of sight, out of mind)

Basically what these tools do is making it hard to be mindlessly entertained. The ideal being to use the internet as the great search engine it is, while avoiding low quality distractions. 

[Naviy]

 In Mac use SelfControl;

in Windows Cold Turkey;

in Chrome StayFocusd;

in Firefox use LeechBlock

 

From here: https://medium.com/swlh/digital-minimalism-how-to-simplify-your-online-life-76b54838a877

[Javfly33]

13 hours ago, 7thLetter said:

@Nivsch @Javfly33 If the thread is clearly about the practical surface level solutions, then post about the practical surface level solutions! 

I’m not asking for your basic spiritual understanding on how to fix the issue. That’s the issue with this forum. People ask for specific practical answers on a practical topic, but they get “spiritual” answers from different forum users. If I want the spiritual answer then I’ll go and make the thread specifically about the spiritual discussion surrounding the issue, simple. I’m a straightforward person.

Spiritual tools are not the solution to all of life’s problems. It’s about implementing all sorts of tools into your development.

I TOTALLY get what you are saying bro, but let me tell you something.

'Spirituality' (although I wouldn't categorize what I told you as something spiritual but rather an interesting observation) is understood as something outside of reality. Mistake. Spirituality is just a path that lets you see things from other perspective.

For example, if I might have a porn addiction, someone might recommend me something but because I see that 'real world problems' is one thing, and the 'spiritual' approach is another thing, I sense that the spritual approach CAN'T impact the material / real problem I have therefore I categorize that advice as "impractical".

Do you see where I'm going? A lot of the spiritual advices (although, again, I wouldn't categorize the thing I told you as spritual) are indeed tremendously practical, precisely because spiritual perspective is not some other world or galaxy, is this right this one! But you keep drawing a line, therefore for you they can't be practical, because you think there is indeed a difference between reality material problems and spirituality, therefore whatever I tell you from this approach will not impact / solve anything in the practical sense because you really think spiritual advice is another galaxy outside the "material world"

[Javfly33]

@7thLetter By the way, If i tell you all of this is for a simple reason. I´ve been trying to quit porn for 2 years now. I used to think like you. Let me tell you (and this is my experience, I don´t want to determine you into something because maybe you can really just quit porn by abstaining it from it) that the solution has not been what i thought it was. 

[7thLetter]

@Javfly33 Oh! I get what you’re saying, everything is one and nothing is separate so there’s no spiritual approach, everything is spiritual! So maybe the solution to the addiction is to burn myself in a fire, jump off a cliff, do meth, crack, and heroin! It all exists within’ reality, and so that’s also a spiritual approach! But its not even a spiritual approach because its not separate!

Yes of course I get what you’re saying, I’ve been listening to Leo for 6 years now. And I’ll tell you now, just quit your theorizing. Even Leo wouldn’t give that advice to people because he knows how to speak from that person’s perspective. If its a topic on getting laid, then he’ll provide straight up, practical advice on how to get laid. He doesn’t go and say “Getting laid is an illusion! Its all one, you and the girl are one!!” I’ve seen this so many times on this forum where people try to teach advanced theory to others and it NEVER helps. “Can’t you see?! Reality is one! You’re ignorant and I’m not!” Yeah, great advice. The advanced individual understands default positions and how perspectives work. They understand that you can’t teach newbies to “SEE” a higher perspective.

Sorry for being so blunt, but hopefully I could stop you now before you continue to give the same advice to others. If not, then continue with that advice until you learn from your own experience.

[7thLetter]

@Knock Thanks, I’ll look into it.

Biggest thing I’m looking for though is an app like Cold Turkey but for the iPhone. There’s a huge lack in apps like that for the iPhone. If you know any that would be nice if you could share

[outlandish]

Great topic @7thLetter

Android:

• Space:  "Space" app to keep general tabs on my usage, and to nag me when I've been on my phone too long. Nice clean app.
•  App Usage: app on Android, which gives a detailed breakdown on how much time you're spending on which apps. It's giving me very good data to help not waste my life on less meaningful time on social media etc.

Chrome:

• StayFocused: lets you set maximum allowed time on different sites per day. So you can ration your usage of social media sites, forums (ahem..) etc.
• I used to use some other extension that would give a breakdown of total time on different sites per day, but I forgot which one it was and would like to find it again. Any recommendations??

These types of apps have potential for massive privacy invasion, abusive data sharing, so be wary. Ideally you'd have enough self control to not need them, but most of us monkeys are like junkies locked in a room with an endless supply of heroin when it comes to digital media, so these tools can be very helpful.

 

[Javfly33]

15 hours ago, 7thLetter said:

@Javfly33 Oh! I get what you’re saying, everything is one and nothing is separate so there’s no spiritual approach, everything is spiritual! So maybe the solution to the addiction is to burn myself in a fire, jump off a cliff, do meth, crack, and heroin! It all exists within’ reality, and so that’s also a spiritual approach! But its not even a spiritual approach because its not separate!

Yes of course I get what you’re saying, I’ve been listening to Leo for 6 years now. And I’ll tell you now, just quit your theorizing. Even Leo wouldn’t give that advice to people because he knows how to speak from that person’s perspective. If its a topic on getting laid, then he’ll provide straight up, practical advice on how to get laid. He doesn’t go and say “Getting laid is an illusion! Its all one, you and the girl are one!!” I’ve seen this so many times on this forum where people try to teach advanced theory to others and it NEVER helps. “Can’t you see?! Reality is one! You’re ignorant and I’m not!” Yeah, great advice. The advanced individual understands default positions and how perspectives work. They understand that you can’t teach newbies to “SEE” a higher perspective.

Sorry for being so blunt, but hopefully I could stop you now before you continue to give the same advice to others. If not, then continue with that advice until you learn from your own experience.

@7thero I'm telling you that way that I have transcended my "porn addiction" is mainly through questioning my beliefs about porn addiction, my relationship life, social life, and etc. By not isolating the concept 'porn addiction' into the thing that I have to eliminate completely to my life, but rather observing what really porn addiction can tell me about my life, I've started discovering things I didn't know about me, between others lack of self love and a disfunctional perspective of seeing other people and socializing. By fixing this, "porn addiction" have started to erode effortlessly. Contrary to the 2 years before which was just "abstaining from it".

Now, of course in your case could be different, im just telling for the sake of your good being that you should consider taking a lot at this approach.

This doesn't mean that you stop using porn blockers if you consider you need them now, but rather that you take into account other perspectives to this problem (like mine) which maybe could be beneficial to you. 

Good luck.

[reves]

The app “Forest” for iOS devices allows you to lock the screen for certain periods of time while you grow a digital forest. 

[lostmedstudent]

@outlandish RescueTime

[lostmedstudent]

Like outlandish said, i like stayfocused on Chrome 

there’s also newsfeed eradicator for facebook 

also on iPhone/iPad you can add restrictions to block certain websites

but having used those tools for well over 3 years, eventually they don’t work anymore.. you get used to it and you find other ways to bypass it ... 

i guess ultimately it’s harder than just finding apps/external tools but they are a great start and they helped me immensely 

[Pramit]

you should look into the no surf community in reddit. They deal with addiction to the internet in general.