[mtgex]

I created a Chrome plugin to block all Hacker News comments and just provide a list of the links because I found myself wasting too much time reading Hacker News comments but I still wanted to be up to date on the actual news part.

All it did was make me waste more time because I got into the unconscious habit of opening Hacker News in incognito mode to avoid the plugin.

I'm not a huge gamer really, but I've also found it difficult to turn off games once I get involved. I've spent many many hours / early mornings playing Hearthstone, which is engineered to be addictive.

I eventually cut free by destroying my collection in game and locking myself out by resetting my credentials to a random email and password. The cost of starting completely from scratch has kept me from returning.

Some people have willpower. Some people need to consciously avoid things that they find unhealthy for themselves.

[laurentb]

If you have willpower to tone down your usage, you don't need something like focus apps. And if you need to avoid things unhealthy for yourself, then a mere barrier will not cut it.

[mtgex]

I think there may be varying degrees of willpower such that a barrier can help and avoidance is itself a barrier.