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Website blockers can be so effective in helping you reduce distractions and interruptions throughout your day, but one of the drawbacks of many website blockers is that they only work on one device.
For example, if I'm browsing here on Amazon and spending too much time looking and shopping, I could block myself here, but what do I do when I go to my phone?
And let's be honest, our smartphones are often the source of most of our distractions.
Well, today, I wanna introduce you to BlockSite, which is available and syncs between your desktop computer and your mobile device, so you can block out and prevent certain distractions no matter where you are.
Mobile App
So, let's jump into the mobile version here and give you a quick look at what's going on.
Here, you can see I've got the BlockSite app installed. It's a very simple, very clean interface.
So, here are some of the sites that I've already added, including social media and a few other websites that I might spend too much time on during the day.
But the other great thing that you'll see here is that you can block particular apps. It's beyond just websites because, of course, on your phone, it's probably certain apps that are distracting you as well.
So, I've added YouTube in this case. Let's say I'm in the middle of my workday, and I want to watch some videos. I click on YouTube—forget about it. This app is blocked by BlockSite, so I can't access it right now because I've added it to my block list.
If I go back into the app, you'll see that my BlockSites are on. All of these websites and apps will be blocked if I try to access them.
Now, it's very easy to add websites or apps. You can hit the plus button, add a web address, and even choose to always block the site and ignore the schedule.
If I select the app tab, I can also scroll through or search any of the apps on my phone and add them to my list as well.
Another great feature is the recurring schedule option. You can set specific times when certain apps and websites are blocked.
For example, I set a schedule here so that between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, all those websites and apps will be blocked.
You don't have to set this manually each day. It's automatically done for you.
However, we all work a little differently, so BlockSite also offers a Work Mode.
You can have a different BlockList for specific times of the day or week versus when you're actually working.
It can be the same list or completely different. For example, I have a different mix of websites and apps here.
You also have a timer option, similar to the Pomodoro Technique. You can set a custom interval, say 25 minutes, where you're focused on work.
During this time, you won't be able to access the blocked apps.
For instance, if I try to access the Play Store, it won't let me because I'm supposed to be working.
The timer will keep counting down, and when it's up, I'll be able to access those sites again.
Depending on your preference and what you find most effective, you can customize BlockSite to work best for you.
Another option on the mobile site is the Adult Block option, which ensures you're blocking mature content intended for 18-plus.
One of the great things about BlockSite is that it syncs between both desktop and mobile versions.
So, let's jump back over to the desktop. All right, so here we are back on my desktop...
Desktop App
And let's say I have a tendency to browse and perhaps do too much shopping throughout my workday.
With the BlockSite browser extension installed, all I have to do is come up here and immediately block this site.
I don't have to type anything in; if I find myself visiting a website too frequently, I can just click "block this site" and add it to my block list.
You can see that this browser interface is very similar to the mobile version. We've got our BlockSites, our Work Mode to start that timer, and the Adult Block.
But let's dive into the settings because there are a few additional options we can do here.
We can, of course, type and add new web addresses directly, but what's nice on the desktop version is that you can both export and, more importantly, import a list of websites you'd like to block.
Maybe you already have such a list, or you can find great pre-existing lists on the web. For example, you might find a list of the 100 most distracting websites, which could include a mix of social media, news sites, and funny websites.
You can import it directly into your list here.
You can also create a redirect. So, if there's a particular web address you'd like to be redirected to when you attempt to visit one of your BlockSites, maybe it's your own website or your Gmail account, you can do that as well.
And we already looked at the schedule, but what's nice about the desktop view is that you can add multiple intervals.
For instance, you can block websites from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., allow access during lunch from 12 to 1 p.m., and then block them again from 1 to 2 p.m. You can set up a more complex schedule here on the desktop version of BlockSite.
We still have Work Mode, and you can password protect your settings. You can even block websites by certain words, which is an interesting feature if you find yourself visiting specific URLs based on certain keywords.
Everything here is perfectly synced with the mobile version. You're not going to see the apps here because, of course, your desktop apps are different from those on your mobile device, but all the websites we blocked on mobile are synced here as well.
If we jump back into the mobile version, we'll see that Amazon.com is blocked there too.
So, if you find yourself being distracted or tempted to visit certain websites or apps during your workday, I recommend checking out BlockSite.
BlockSite is available for both Android and iOS devices.
If you have further questions or comments about site blocking, I'd love to hear from you, so be sure to leave a question in the comments down below.
Thank you so much for watching today's video, and remember: being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it's very simple.
