How to Block Distracting Websites Only When You're Actually Trying to Focus
Permanent blocklists get disabled the first time you need the site for something legitimate. Here's a better model: block only while you're in a focus context.
Most website blockers work on a fixed schedule or a permanent blocklist: block social media from 9 to 5, or block it entirely until you manually disable the extension. Both approaches have the same failure mode — the first time you have a legitimate reason to use the blocked site during blocked hours, you either disable the whole blocker (and often forget to turn it back on) or you just stop trusting it and route around it.
The problem with schedule-based blocking
A fixed schedule assumes your focus time is predictable and constant. In practice, most people’s actual focus sessions are irregular — you might do deep work at 10am one day and 3pm the next, or need to focus for two hours in the evening. A blocker tied to a clock either blocks you when you don’t need it, or fails to block you exactly when you do.
Blocking tied to context instead of time
A more useful trigger than “what time is it” is “what am I actually doing right now.” If you have a “focus page” — a specific doc, a Notion workspace, a specific project board — open in a tab, that’s a much stronger signal that you’re trying to concentrate than any fixed clock time. The blocking should activate because that context is open, and lift automatically the moment it’s closed.
This solves the core problem with permanent or scheduled blocklists: there’s no override to remember to disable, because the block was never permanent in the first place. Close your focus tab, and the rest of the web opens back up on its own.
How this works in practice
SiteWarden implements exactly this model: you define one or more “focus pages” (like Docs or Notion) and a blocklist of distracting sites. When a focus page tab is open, the blocklist activates automatically. Close it, and it deactivates — no schedule, no manual toggle, no forgetting to turn it back on.
A few details make it fast to actually set up and adjust, rather than something you configure once and then avoid touching:
- Right-click any page to instantly add it to your blocklist, without opening a settings page.
- Type “block” in the address bar as a quick-add shortcut for the page you’re currently on.
- Import/export settings, useful if you want to set this up once and carry the same config across machines.
- Dark mode, since this is a page you’ll open somewhat often while adjusting your setup.
Getting the most out of it
The setup that works best for most people: pick one or two pages you actually do deep work in (a specific doc, a task manager, a writing app) as your focus pages, and add the handful of sites you know you drift to when you’re avoiding a task. You don’t need a long blocklist — three or four sites covering your actual habits is usually enough, since the automatic activation does the real work, not the length of the list.
