HACKER Q&A
📣 aumakua

Tools for mitigating digital addiction, any suggestions?


I know this is an oft-raised subject on HN but I find that none of the tools I've come across thus far have solved any of my problems. As someone with poor impulse control and decent digital literacy, I find that I ignore any tracker app that tells me I'm on my computer too often, and I will circumvent any blocker I set up to disallow me from accessing media that I had earlier decided I should consume less of.

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a tool that exists that will force my devices to shut off at a certain time and cannot be disabled with a few shell commands. I know this is a bit absurd but this is the reality of my situation (working from home, sleeping at 3-4AM for no particular reason) and I can't think of any effective solution that doesn't gimp my actual work routine in the day.

I also have an issue with constant alt-tabbing and ctrl-tabbing when I'm on the internet, even when I'm literally in the process of reading an article or watching a video (both in recreational and educational scenarios). Curious as to how many others do this as well, and if there's some sort of tool that someone has written to disallow this kind of behavior (perhaps adding some sort of "cooldown" to an alt-tab or shift-tab).

Sorry for raising this topic once again but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


  👤 collimator Accepted Answer ✓
Beaches. Beautiful girls. Fresh food from your own garden. Make your home beautiful. Learn guitar... remember that there shall only ever be this moment and that none of the things discussed in places like this are real. Lose your phone. Let your computer die. Write letters to people you love. Serve yourself delicious meals ~ present them to yourself on fine china with your best cutlery and a fresh tablecloth. Life is short... let it not also be brutal and stupid.