[AndrewPGameDev]

I've been using this extension called "Crackbook Revival" which allows you to set timers upon visiting certain websites, in a certain time range like 9-5. I have it setup on Reddit and Youtube to do a 10 second delay before loading the webpage.

I think one of the important tricks to using friction productively is to not use it too aggressively. A lot of people get started on this idea, but they almost instantly find themselves turning the friction back off because it's too much. For example, staying logged out of every website all of the time sounds like way too much friction for me, but Crackbook works because if I really want to watch a Youtube video, waiting 10 seconds really isn't all that long.

More research on what types of friction work, and what types of friction don't work would be extremely useful.

[bobbiechen]

I've been using the "LeechBlock" extension on Firefox mobile in the same way. I find it works well for sites like (ironically) Hacker News, where I get diminishing returns for browsing more in the same day.

On the flip side, reducing friction is also important. I practice my saxophone a lot more than my piano, partly because the sax lives a few feet behind my desk and the piano is down the hallway in the living room.

[amadeuspagel]

It's a good idea, but one problem I have with it is that it doesn't distinguish between visiting a website by typing in its address, and clicking on links within that website. I want to be interrupted when I type in "n" and hit enter in the addressbar to get to "news.ycombinator.com", but not every time I click on a link to the comments of an article.