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by gernb 1245 days ago
> Spend too much time on Hacker News? I made an extension to freeze the front page so it updates once every 6 hours.

Me, I just open a guest account, or a new profile, etc. Meaning, the extension is at most a reminder to try to stop. it's still trivial to bypass

3 comments

> the extension is at most a reminder to try to stop. it's still trivial to bypass

Well, of course. You can also disable the extension, but that's not the point.

I agree with who you're replying to. A blocker is no blocker if it is trivial to disable.
It is about blocking yourself so the routine is interrupted. Suddenly it is no one click routine action anymore, but you take make the decision to bypass a conscious decision of the brain. At that point you can decide to stop and go back to your actual work and thus break the habit of ope ing that page too often.
All it needs to do is pattern interrupt strongly enough that you're not sucked into the social media black hole for hours.

A bypass for 15 minutes button might be too weak, but a small math problem or a password you need to get from your manager would be enough friction.

The decision to bypass after being interrupted is with you, and that's ok.

Executive function tools: not an exact substitute for executive function capabilities. ;)