
Show HN: Prod – Blocks addictive websites until you've finished your to-do list - JohnBartlet
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/prod-%E2%80%94-the-thoughtful-to/cpelgckpifnonijeenjbaglajimalpcl
======
finaliteration
Very nice extension. I think one of the best things that’s happened to me
productivity-wise is switching from an employer who was very loose/lenient
about personal use with company computers to one who is very strict about it
(we work with much more sensitive data). Knowing I can’t just jump over to HN
whenever I want makes it a lot easier to focus. I also like the clear
segmentation between my digital work environment and my personal one.

~~~
tdfx
I agree on the segmentation. I actually have no work-related reason to keep
everything separate, but purposely do so for the distraction-related reasons
you mentioned. I do this by keeping each type of work and personal project in
its own Chrome user profile. This creates a silo'ed workspace for me to keep
things only related to that project, but still have a personal profile to keep
all my interesting bookmarks that I like to waste my time on.

~~~
biql
I went a bit further a created separate macos users for work and personal
stuff. It helped with distractions but I did encountered a minor inconvenience
when wanted to sync vscode / shell configurations.

------
Pimpus
This wouldn't work for me - my to-do list only grows bigger, not smaller :-)

Anyway, I've had a lot of success with Cold Turkey for blocking distracting
websites and applications. I even bought a license for the extra features
since it is so good. So yeah, I recommend it. Not affiliated.

~~~
13of40
What do you do when you're building?

~~~
dotancohen
SSH into a remote server and read HN using w3m.

Gotta go, compiler throwing errors...

------
drcode
First of all, this looks like a great project...

...but the problem I've always had with these types of systems is that there's
always that one item on your to-do list which ends up more complicated than
you expected: So at the end of the day you're stuck with either (1) redefining
the scope of that one to-do list item so that you can enjoy your evening and
browse the web or (2) sticking with the original scope of your todo item and
then you don't get to enjoy your websites/evening, even if you've worked hard
otherwise.

In this way, what was supposed to be a cut-and-dry, objective productivity
metric unavoidably devolves into a subjective decision.

~~~
JohnBartlet
Thanks for checking it out. I think that's a real problem with all to-do
lists. I often have to break down my to-dos into smaller chunks just so I can
have the satisfaction of checking them off. I used to write "write to-do list"
on my to-do list.

~~~
chiefalchemist
Perhaps it would be worth adding a To Don't list? I mean, it's not the To Do
List that makes or breaks us, but doing things we shouldn't be doing (that
pours sand in the gas tank of productivity).

That said, and perhaps this is outside your scope, what kills me is social
media. I know #duh :) let me finish :) For example, I'll be stuck on something
semi-pressing so I'll post it on SM. That leads to checking back for answers.
Or having something to share to SM and not wanting to forget about it later so
it becomes a now thing.

~~~
JohnBartlet
To some extent that's what this does, it has a to-don't list of sorts; the
list of sites you'd like to block. I'd suggest just deleting all social media
accounts, you won't miss them. Email is still king.

~~~
chiefalchemist
Yes. But __maybe__ if the To Don't stared you down as well that would be
helpful. Maybe even keep score somehow? Evidently, afaik, a score is a good
nudge when it comes to influencing human decision making / behavior.

Ultimately, these things fail us (or us them?). I'm what-if'ing a couple of
tweaks that might help just a little bit.

------
utefan001
This is not production perfect yet, but it integrates with Github, DuoLingo,
and several education sites to offer similar help to develop better habits.
Target market is children, but we added a github option to measure progress as
an alternative to the learning sites.

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/studycity/jhehahil...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/studycity/jhehahilkccjclfadmmplhpdnjjdgdlo)

------
michael_leachim
My main problem with the web usage is not blocking unwanted websites but
rather understanding which when and how I should or shouldn't block them.

For example, On one hand, I can't block Wikipedia Stack Overflow or GitHub
because I need them for work. On the other, I find myself hours later browsing
the source of a project unrelated to the task at hand.

By far, the only way I found to work is to introduce a delay between the need
for information and the actual retrieval.

Like you write down queries to the Google and then do something else. In ten
minutes time, you do exactly what you wrote in your log file. If you want to
search for something else, you introduce it into the journal again, and in ten
minutes repeat it. So goes the cycle.

But then, because you have this lag you can't do research faster because your
every step is now bound by drag and red tape that you introduced yourself.

TBH, this is a book material here, because working with internet but not
abusing the information hoarding instincts is a methodology question.

Not a technical one.

------
blazespin
My go to is meditation. Everytime I find my mind wandering I take a break for
3 minutes and concentrate on my breathing. I find it brings my brain back to
focus on the present.

~~~
0xFACEFEED
Sounds... exhausting :(

What happens when you're mind wanders while you meditate?

~~~
blablablerg
the whole point of meditation is focus your mind..

------
localhost3000
Cool! I made one awhile back called Todobook, it replaces the FB Newsfeed (and
various other sites' feeds/lists, like HN) with a todo app that unlocks the
feed when you finish your task(s) (either all or one, via config). Fun project
:)

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/todobook/ihbejplhk...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/todobook/ihbejplhkeifejcpijadinaicidddbde)

------
PeOe
It looks great and I think there are a lot of potentials. But you need to
create a to-do list which could be finished in the right amount of time. But
in the beginning, it's difficult to know how long you need for which task. Is
it possible to unlock the websites after x finished to-do's? Maybe unlock it
for 30 minutes?

We build our own productivity Tool Zenkit and that's why I need to discover
tools in a different way.

------
iamrohitbanga
Personally self control and discipline is the only way to avoid productivity
nightmares. Still I can see it as a productivity enhancer for many usecases.

~~~
j45
Discipline is a habit that can be built in part by cutting out the habit of
the distraction. No matter how unconsciously one may type in facebook.com,
etc., it's an immediate cut to the loop.

~~~
xfitm3
I think discipline is more about being completely honest with yourself than
habit.

------
nur0n
Thanks for your work. I have been wanting a tool like this. It really
appreciate the design; both in terms of functionality and aesthetics.

------
utefan001
One way to use this plugin would be to break tasks down into manageable
pieces. It is usually easier to motivate yourself to knock out a 15 min task
than to do a 4 hour task.

------
cheeze
Is it open source? If not, any chance of a ff extension?

~~~
JohnBartlet
Hi, it's not open source. Once I've nailed the Chrome version, I'll release
one for Firefox. Stay tuned.

------
dj43nq
The idea is good but I still think you could just schedule use of various
websites like any other meeting.

------
NPChar
Does it work for https? I've found blocking on the router level often fails
and the hosts file is more reliable. Especially because of browser hopping,
firefox for security, chrome for google services, opera for specific sites,
iexplore when things are too broken a by ublock origin and no script or older
camera firmware.

~~~
JohnBartlet
Hello, do you mean will it block websites using https?

------
TekMol
...and hands all your browsing over to someone from the internet.

~~~
sb8244
Have you validated that this is true? I just pulled the extension to look at
the source (it's not minified). It does have google analytics on it, but that
is noted by the author in the extension.

All of the blocking logic is done client side, with a single web request that
I could find (not posting any data).

~~~
TekMol
What I mean is that you run code on your machine from a guy you know nothing
about. It has full control and you have no idea what it does.

The average user does not know how to study the code before installing it.

Heck, _I_ don't know it. How do you do it?

------
cdnsteve
Is this open source?

~~~
JohnBartlet
I'm afraid not. I plan to monetize it, but not in an annoying way.

