Blocking Websites

Blocking Websites

VisionFocus helps you stay focused by blocking distracting websites. You can add websites to your blocklist, set daily time limits, and configure YouTube-specific blocking.

Adding Websites to Blocklist

1. Click the VisionFocus icon in your Chrome toolbar
2. Navigate to the “Block” tab
3. Enter the website URL in the input field (e.g., youtube.com, twitter.com)
4. Click “Add to Blocklist”

The website will be immediately blocked. When you try to visit it, you’ll see a block page with your vision statement.

Removing Websites from Blocklist

1. Open VisionFocus
2. Go to the “Block” tab
3. Find the website in your blocklist
4. Click the “Remove” button next to the website

Setting Daily Time Limits

VisionFocus allows you to set a daily time limit for accessing blocked websites instead of blocking them completely.

1. Add a website to your blocklist (see above)
2. Click on the time limit dropdown next to the website
3. Choose from the available options:
   • 5 minutes
   • 15 minutes
   • 30 minutes
   • 60 minutes

Once you exceed your daily limit, the website will be blocked for the rest of the day.

YouTube-Specific Blocking

VisionFocus includes a dedicated YouTube blocking feature:

1. Open VisionFocus
2. Navigate to the “Block” tab
3. Add youtube.com to your blocklist
4. VisionFocus will block access to the YouTube website

This feature blocks youtube.com and all its subdomains. Note that it blocks the YouTube website itself, not embedded videos on other sites.

The Block Page

When you visit a blocked website, you’ll see a block page that displays:

• Your daily vision statement (if you’ve set one)
• The blocked website URL
• Time remaining in your daily limit (if configured)
• Number of times you’ve unblocked this site today

This page serves as a reminder of your goals and helps you stay accountable.

Unblocking Websites

If you need to temporarily access a blocked website:

1. Visit the blocked website
2. On the block page, click the “Unblock” button
3. Confirm that you want to unblock the site in the dialog

Caution

While you can unblock websites when needed, every unblock is tracked and counted. VisionFocus shows you how many times you’ve unblocked each site to help you stay accountable. Frequent unblocking may indicate you need to adjust your blocklist or time limits.

Tips for Effective Blocking

• Start small: Begin with 1-2 most distracting websites
• Use time limits: Complete blocking may be too strict for some sites
• Block domains, not pages: Block youtube.com instead of specific video URLs
• Review regularly: Check your blocking statistics weekly and adjust as needed
• Combine with timers: Use focus timers alongside website blocking for maximum productivity

Common Blocking Patterns

• Social media: twitter.com, facebook.com, instagram.com
• Video platforms: youtube.com, netflix.com, twitch.tv
• News sites: reddit.com, news.ycombinator.com
• Gaming: steam.com, twitch.tv

Wasted Time Tracking

VisionFocus automatically tracks:

• How many times you tried to access blocked sites
• How many times you unblocked sites
• Total time spent on time-limited sites

Review these statistics in the “Stats” tab to understand your browsing patterns.

Need Help?

• Check our FAQ
• Report issues on GitHub