By: Andrea Piazza, Disability Specialist, Office of Accessibility Resources and Services  

This month,   the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services is highlighting different website/app blockers that may help you with your goals to complete tasks as it relates to studying, reading, and completing assignments and projects.  Do notifications from various apps and websites grab your attention and distract you while you are completing your schoolwork? These tools may not be for every student.  The various apps, discussed in an online article from lifehack.org, all have a free or low-cost option.  They all have different strengths and if you have been considering finding something to help you stay true to your goals, and reduce your distractions to complete that project, maybe one of these will help you. 
 

What: Self Control 
Platform: Chrome extension 
Cost: Free 
Features: Blocks websites you identify as being the most distracting during your focus periods 

  

Name: Forest 
Platform: Smartphones and Chrome extension 
Cost: Free 
Features: Designed to be used on smartphones but can be applied to a Chrome extension. The user will identify websites that pose as a distraction. When starting Forest, the user plants a tree seed that begins to grow over 30 minutes.   It will continue to grow into a tree if the user does not get distracted by visiting any of the websites on the blocked list.  If so, the tree begins to wither. The longer the user stays focused, the more abundant their forest will grow. 

  

Name: Cold Turkey 
Cost: Free for Basic Plan 
Platform: Windows and Mac 
Features: This is for the user that is tempted to alter the goal after they set it. This program has an array of distracting apps and websites that a user may identify to block during the focusing period. The program allows users to add specific websites/apps they wish to avoid.  The interesting feature of this program is it does not allow users to work around it by selecting another browser to open the selected blocked websites. Users can decide to lock down the selected time period which cannot be altered until that time period is over.  This can be used once or daily. 

  

The Office of Accessibility Resources and Services may recommend resources, whether they are available through the college or through available technology, for students to try. Please contact our office if you need accommodations due to a disability. Please email the office at disability.services@esc.edu. Melissa Zgliczynski or Andrea Piazza will contact you to discuss your needs or questions further.  Please go to the office website for more information regarding the services and resources our office provides: www.esc.edu/accessibility/.