I've been trying various "noprocrast" approaches over the years, including /etc/hosts and HN's own noprocrast settings. The one that finally worked for me was disabling distractions directly on the router - it covers all my computers, as well as my phone. I set it so that distracting sites are disabled during work hours (Monday-Friday, 08:00 - 18:00).<p>More details about implementation: <a href="http://jacek.zlydach.pl/blog/2020-05-25-blocking-distractions-with-mikrotik-router.html" rel="nofollow">http://jacek.zlydach.pl/blog/2020-05-25-blocking-distraction...</a>.
Fwiw, I've found that the inversion approach of fighting procrastination works considerably better for me. So, instead of trying to not do something I try to do something instead. In more detail this means focusing on achieving a certain amount of deep work hours per day. First this means that I have to condition myself to want to do deep work in the first place. Rereading the first few pages of the book from time to time helps with this part.<p>Also, if the last thing I think about before falling asleep is about what it is that I wanted to do next, then the next day starting to do meaningful work is a lot easier, as I actually feel like I want to try this thing I thought about. Keeping a work logbook is another good method in being able to start up easier, as you can just pick the easiest item in the list and do that. Once the ball starts rolling and you get deeper in the zone, then procrastination is rarely much of a problem.
I don’t know if the OP is even on Facebook, but I it noteworthy that it’s not on their list of sample blocked sites. I don’t find FB to be addictive either, unlike a lot of people. Usually when I check it, I find myself a quick skim of notifications and the newsfeed to be sufficient, really just a minute or two a day. It runs counter to the popular narrative of Facebook addiction.<p>Anyone else feel that way? I wonder if it’s because Facebook has no longer become a place for novel content, and there’s an aversion to lingering on it. Of course this is my personal opinion, but I do think it’s easier to find topical content on Twitter and HN, and so they’re more distracting and worth blocking.
There are also the apps, Self Control available for MacOS[1] and Cold Turkey[2], which is an universal app.<p>[1]: <a href="https://selfcontrolapp.com/" rel="nofollow">https://selfcontrolapp.com/</a>
[2]: <a href="http://getcoldturkey.com/" rel="nofollow">http://getcoldturkey.com/</a>
Disabling access from /etc/hosts has been very useful for me, though my similar [1] productivity script did not work as well as I wanted it.<p>For quite some time I had been using hostess [2] to enable/disable specific websites, yet this too had a couple of problems.<p>1. Docker Desktop (macOS) keeps appending on my /etc/hosts without asking me when I start it. This requires usage of `hostess fix` to remove duplicate entries.<p>2. Changing /etc/hosts requires sudo access, which means I have to keep inputting it when I need to make any changes.<p>Eventually I just `vim /etc/hosts` instead of `sudo hostess fix && sudo hostess on news.ycombinator.com`<p>[1] <a href="https://github.com/sirodoht/productivity.sh" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/sirodoht/productivity.sh</a><p>[2] <a href="https://github.com/cbednarski/hostess" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/cbednarski/hostess</a>
a side note, but a dimple but effective strategy I use for getting of time consuming websites is to just use a password manager for all my accounts on those sites. logging out of those accounts, and having the password only be accessible via another long and complicated password (to access the password vault) is usually enough of a barrier in the moment
The only no-procrast tool that is absolute and unforgiving enough to actually stop me from procrastinating is Self Control [1] (MacOS only afaik). Anything else which offers an escape hatch will always be useless for professional procrastinators.<p>[1] <a href="https://selfcontrolapp.com/" rel="nofollow">https://selfcontrolapp.com/</a>
The problem with this approach is HN, reddit are necessary for work. I search HN all the time for technical info to avoid the blogspam and SEO marketing crap on Google. For me, the key to managing procrastination has been accountability - tracking my time and making myself radically accountable to friends I respect.
Hacker News also has a noprocrast feature that’s designed to keep you away from the site for a while if you’ve been using the site for too long. It’s a little buggy with how it does detection, though, so I have it turned off.
I have found few things as effective as shutting down my X server and just working in Emacs in the console. Obviously less useful if you're doing web stuff (although NetSurf exists).
I used to have script that would gradually dim my display unless I typed.<p>The broader issue for me isn’t a particular website. It’s brain-dead consumption of feeds. Typing guarantees that you’re thinking a little.<p>Even with email, it made me less likely to overthink things. It gave a bias to action. Keep moving, keep typing.<p>I had a whitelist of exceptions (IntelliJ, Terminal, etc).<p>Unfortunately the script broke a few years ago. I keep on meaning to fix it but I’ve been too busy reading feeds.
Thanks for the catalyst to re-enable my /etc/hosts approach to simplifying my life.<p>I'm surprised to see that adding:<p><pre><code> 127.0.0.1 youtube.com www.youtube.com
</code></pre>
to /etc/hosts doesn't seem to block youtube, but every other line I added blocked/routed as expected. Is there something special about youtube and chromium?
I've tried various versions of Noprocrast as a chrome and safari extensions.<p>I feel like that it falls into the category of that it will be 50/50 that it will work for you or not.<p>For me I would eventually circumvent the whole thing anyways. You may also want to think about why you are procrastinating? Then figure out how to alleviate that.
SelfControl is a free hosts file based blocker with some added features that prevent you from undoing your own blocks until the specified time period has elapsed.<p><a href="https://selfcontrolapp.com/" rel="nofollow">https://selfcontrolapp.com/</a>
This is great. I might start using this.<p>I really appreciate that HN has a noprocrast tool. I’ve also used Apple’s Screen Time feature to help me break away from distractions. While I feel such tools are crutches for good self-control, <i>I</i> am not yet disciplined enough to not need them some times.<p>Facebook claims to care about its users. I think that’s hogwash. If FB <i>actually</i> cared I think they would have settings to enforce limits on engaging with their platform. But of course they have no incentive to do that because it cuts into their revenue stream. Apple has little problem putting limit tools in place because they get money just when you buy the device—not necessarily every time you use it.
I too had my go at this, and it was very effective<p>Checkout these two files<p><a href="https://github.com/Shokodemon/smallhacks/blob/master/sh/deprocrast.sh" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Shokodemon/smallhacks/blob/master/sh/depr...</a><p><a href="https://github.com/Shokodemon/smallhacks/blob/master/sh/procra_targets.txt" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/Shokodemon/smallhacks/blob/master/sh/proc...</a>
Can someone please help me with how to achieve the same thing on windows that works on any browser ? I tried some DNS blocking programs and can't get anything to work properly.
I added Reddit and some other sites to my uBlock blacklist because most of the time I would end up there unwillingly.<p>Control + t (new tab), red (autocomplete to reddit) and enter. Muscular memory.<p>Now uBlock tells me that the site is locked, I realize what I'm doing and I close the tab. That muscle memory is now gone.<p>Sometimes duckduckgo returns me some useful reddit links and uBlock gives me the option to allow it temporally which is a few minutes. So even if I start messing around after a while it blocks me again.
Anything requiring sudo or su is not enough: too easy to just take the habit to type the password very fast.<p>What I've found that works is using the command "lockout" with some weird modification of the sudoers file in order to allow only certain commands with sudo (or other commands with only certain arguments not matching forbidden patterns).
Run this on a Raspberry Pi in combination with DNSmasq, and point your routers DNS to Raspberry. Then you have a universal solution for all your devices at home, and that works for Chrome+Firefox. Most routers can have 2x different WiFi SSID with different DNS-settings, so you don’t get complains from your loved ones.
I messed around with the settings in HN the other day and managed to enable the procrastination settings. Was locked out for a couple hours....<p>That’s what I get for just toggling things. It’s been a habit since I was a child, if we visited a house or rented a car I would flip any switch or touch any button or knob I could reach.
I have (had!) a similar setup via /etc/hosts blocking HN and other sites. Entering a quick sudo gedit /etc/hosts has been so common, that my plan utterly failed.<p>I then blocked some sites on the router. Too bad the cell phone has a decent 4G connection... oh well.
For a natural & organic form of noprocrast, one can also try cultivating a crippling phone / tablet addiction that reduces any device with a keyboard to “work”.<p>Actually works quite well provided you keep the drugs in another room, it’s a shame I’m an iOS developer.
Here are some good, maintained lists:
<a href="https://github.com/jmdugan/blocklists" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/jmdugan/blocklists</a>
I've tried this but browsers like Chrome (and perhaps Firefox as well) will ignore the hosts file and use Google's DNS servers to resolve sites that are blocked by hosts.
Only a strong sense of purpose and an equally strong will to sacrifice everything we use to evade oursleves from our own lives will keep procrastination at bay. Nothing else creates deeply rooted meaning. Nothing else really works.<p>Putting hurdles between us and our distractions will, at worst, start a vicious cycle of circumventing them and putting them up again; at best, make us dependent on them so we resort back to our bad habits whenever we can't make use of those mechanisms--back to square one.
This post was scraped from my old technical blog: <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20100423003857/http://mmcgrana.github.com/2010/03/noprocrast.html" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20100423003857/http://mmcgrana.gi...</a><p>Looks like the site has a few other scraped posts as well.<p>FWIW I no longer use this exact noprocrast(1) approach to avoiding procrastination, but do apply the same basic idea.