5 ms·

Putting this in my hosts file helped me maintain my focus. 127.0.0.1 news.ycombinator.com 127.0.0.1 reddit.com 127.0.0.1 facebook.com

smitty1e 6y ago
But. . .then. . .how. . .did you get to this site?
- benjohnson 6y ago
  :) I have a dedicated "time-wasting" computer - this helps me recognize when I'm spending too much time doing things that may not be important.
AdrianB1 6y ago
Lol, same for Facebook here. I don't have an account (I had one years ago), but the Internet is full of FB links. Considering doing the same for Twitter, even if I never used it (it is not so popular in Europe).
diehunde 6y ago
I waste time when I go to YouTube because of all the recommendations I get. I added custom css to Safari and added display: none to all those divs so now I never see recommendations and just watch the thing I'm looking for.
mxschumacher 6y ago
for good measure, here are 83k additional domains: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts
boterock 6y ago
I've been using the Leechblock extension on Firefox. It lets you set browsing quotas per website. It has been good for reducing time wasting habits.
sneeuwpopsneeuw 6y ago
Yhea this is nice but this simply does not work on all websites. The edge between working and browsing the web can be very thin on some websites. For Facebook it is easy just block it completely but reddit and youtube are difficult so what I do is that I use a plugin called stayfocused it allows you to set a amount of time (for me 30 min) that you are allowed per day to be on the websites you listed. On my second browser I place no restrictions like that but use ublock origin to block everyting untill it is broken. So for example i remove the recommendations from youtube and it's search bar. On reddit I remove the list view so only a single post shows correctly. For me this works way better because the rules are fair and that makes sure you do not just remove the entries from your host file for example just a few days after you entered them.
- esperent 6y ago
  Why is reddit hard to block? I put that in my hosts from time to time and it works fine. The real problem is how incredibly hard it is to set edit the hosts file on mobile. At least without using a VPN app or something.
  - sneeuwpopsneeuw 6y ago
    When you are programming in some lesser known graphics frameworks like libgdx or when you are using OpenGl then the special Reddit subpages are more active than stackoverflow. For example I implemented a framebuffer in OpenGL wrong a few weeks ago but the output then is just a black screen. Some redditor mentioned that specific thing in a comment on /r/OpenGL
afarrell 6y ago
Even better than that: 1. apps like freedom, selfcontrol.app, or coldturkey 2. regular sleep and exercise. If you find it hard to go to sleep on time, lie down in a dark room for an hour and listen to an audiobook or call your family. 3. When you start a thing, write down the goal and the "why" behind the goal. 4. Find ways to identify the incremental signs-of-success in any task. Apply the TDD mindset to other things. 5. Pomodoro technique to combine 3 and 4.

smitty1e 6y ago

But. . .then. . .how. . .did you get to this site?

benjohnson 6y ago
:) I have a dedicated "time-wasting" computer - this helps me recognize when I'm spending too much time doing things that may not be important.

AdrianB1 6y ago

Lol, same for Facebook here. I don't have an account (I had one years ago), but the Internet is full of FB links. Considering doing the same for Twitter, even if I never used it (it is not so popular in Europe).

diehunde 6y ago

I waste time when I go to YouTube because of all the recommendations I get. I added custom css to Safari and added display: none to all those divs so now I never see recommendations and just watch the thing I'm looking for.

mxschumacher 6y ago

for good measure, here are 83k additional domains: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

boterock 6y ago

I've been using the Leechblock extension on Firefox. It lets you set browsing quotas per website. It has been good for reducing time wasting habits.

sneeuwpopsneeuw 6y ago

Yhea this is nice but this simply does not work on all websites. The edge between working and browsing the web can be very thin on some websites. For Facebook it is easy just block it completely but reddit and youtube are difficult so what I do is that I use a plugin called stayfocused it allows you to set a amount of time (for me 30 min) that you are allowed per day to be on the websites you listed. On my second browser I place no restrictions like that but use ublock origin to block everyting untill it is broken. So for example i remove the recommendations from youtube and it's search bar. On reddit I remove the list view so only a single post shows correctly. For me this works way better because the rules are fair and that makes sure you do not just remove the entries from your host file for example just a few days after you entered them.

esperent 6y ago
Why is reddit hard to block? I put that in my hosts from time to time and it works fine. The real problem is how incredibly hard it is to set edit the hosts file on mobile. At least without using a VPN app or something.
- sneeuwpopsneeuw 6y ago
  When you are programming in some lesser known graphics frameworks like libgdx or when you are using OpenGl then the special Reddit subpages are more active than stackoverflow. For example I implemented a framebuffer in OpenGL wrong a few weeks ago but the output then is just a black screen. Some redditor mentioned that specific thing in a comment on /r/OpenGL

afarrell 6y ago

Even better than that: 1. apps like freedom, selfcontrol.app, or coldturkey 2. regular sleep and exercise. If you find it hard to go to sleep on time, lie down in a dark room for an hour and listen to an audiobook or call your family. 3. When you start a thing, write down the goal and the "why" behind the goal. 4. Find ways to identify the incremental signs-of-success in any task. Apply the TDD mindset to other things. 5. Pomodoro technique to combine 3 and 4.