A Great App for Eliminating Distractions During Homework

Technology and Teenagers

SelfcontrolMy 16-year old son is really into technology.  I mean really!  He typically stays on task when using his Mac for studying and completing assignments, but sometimes the lure of surfing the web is hard to resist.  I can understand his dilemma.  Trending videos on YouTube vs. math homework.  Checking your Twitter feed vs. writing an essay.  What would you pick?  When schoolwork is tedious or difficult, picking the more pleasurable activity is understandable, but the problem is that math and writing get pushed later into the evening, sometimes, too late.

April 1, 2014, Oakton, Virginia

Last night, I came home from work and talked to my kids about their day.  Will told me about a neat new website he was using called SelfControl.

He showed me how he can “blacklist” websites by disabling their usage for a period of time.  He typed in six websites from Amazon to Twitter and then disabled them for 30 minutes.  Check out this image for how’s it’s done (time selected was an hour).

self control timer

I wanted proof that it really worked, so he logged onto Facebook, and here’s what popped up.

This app doesn’t mess around.  By adding sites students know will distract them from their school work, they can get those mundane assignments done by working diligently until the time expires.  Even if they restart their computer or delete the application, they are still unable to access the blacklisted sites.

According to Will and his friends, this app helps kids to be far more efficient and productive.

The good news is that works like a gem and it’s free.  The bad is that it’s only available on Mac…for now.

There are other fantastic apps that our educational coaches teach students how to use.  Here are some prior articles that might interest you:

A great app for studying: https://ectutoring.com/best-study-app

Productivity apps for high school students: https://ectutoring.com/more-productive-high-school-student-apps

App for the SAThttps://ectutoring.com/the-best-sat-prep-app

What’s your favorite app for getting things done?  I’d love to hear your suggestions.  And if you need a help determining if one of our coaches can help your middle or high schooler, drop me a line!  ann@www.ectutoring.com.php72-34.phx1-1.websitetestlink.com