I can’t remember how I lived without Anti-Social, the app that locks you out of distracting websites for set amounts of time so that you can get on with your work.
The way it works is simple but effective. Certain sites, such as YouTube and Twitter, are automatically blocked, and others can be added manually. You activate the app by setting a timer, perhaps just for half an hour, then there’s nothing you can do to get around the barricade, short of shutting your entire computer down and restarting it, which would just be embarrassing.
Once the half-hour is up, you get a dose of guilt-free browsing and then, in theory, you turn it back on again.
It might seem counter-intuitive to limit your options this way: if your willpower is strong enough to get you to buy and switch on the app, one might ask, surely it’s strong enough to simply avoid the sites?
In fact, it taps into a paradox explored in The Odyssey: if we know in advance that our capability to make rational decisions will be compromised at a later date, locking ourselves into certain restraints in advance can help us act in our own best interests.
Homer’s hero knew that he’d be powerless to resist the sirens’ song, so he ordered his men to tie him to the mast as his boat sailed by. It’s the same principle that’s behind having a gym buddy to force you out of bed on a cold morning.
Internet addicts can relate to the feeling of being powerless in the face of temptation: the British author Zadie Smith added the app Freedom, which blocks the entire internet, to the acknowledgements at the end of her book NW, and she says that she even has to put her phone in a cupboard at the other end of the house.
The American novelist Jonathan Franzen also once wrote that “it’s doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction”. But for those who need certain portions of the internet, Anti-Social (or SelfControl, which is a similar style of app) is a good compromise.
q&a lead us not into temptation
Jessica Holland analyses why employees need apps to improve their productivity:
Who is so weak-willed they need an application to bar them from the internet?
A lot of people. The writers Dave Eggers, Naomi Klein and Miranda July have all praised Freedom for allowing them to get on with their work in peace, although the British writer Will Self thinks they're all babies. "I'm sorry, but that is just pathetic," he was quoted as saying in an article on the topic in The Telegraph. "Get a grip, Zadie."
But I work better when I can rest my brain with the odd peek at Instagram.
Sorry, studies show that the best way for most people to concentrate is to get rid of all distractions for a solid block of 25 to 40 minutes, then get up and have a proper stretch and a rest for a few minutes. Flitting from social media to the news and back to the task at hand will disrupt your train of thought.
I promise you, I don’t distract myself that often …
Are you sure? Have you ever tried making a log of how many times you open up distracting websites during the day? Two-thirds of the people polled in a recent study by Tecmark said they had found themselves logging into Facebook automatically, without even realising that they were doing it.
Fine. How do I sign up?
It’s US$15 to download Anti-Social for either Mac or Windows; there’s also a free trial that’s limited to five uses. You can also buy Anti-Social in a bundle with Freedom for $20, and there’s a 60-day money-back guarantee.
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