It’s difficult to stay on track these days, thanks for the most part to social media, instant messengers, shopping sites and more or less, the internet as a whole! And yet, studying is so closely related to the internet these days that it would actually prove to be quite difficult to work that term paper without seeing a few references online.
To find the middle ground and take control back over your own time, the best method would be to just block the websites which distract you the most, and which hamper your ability to concentrate with constant notifications, pings, offers, and so on.
On that note, today we are going to discuss five ways to effectively block websites or at least temporarily limit their access so that you can focus on your studies and even browse the internet for necessary info when needed, but without the lure of distractions.
Block Websites from Your PC
If your PC is the main source of distraction, then it’s possible to block websites from it directly. Just follow the steps as mentioned below.
- Follow the path Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Security > your User Name
- Go to Family Safety and select On, enforce current setting
- Find the tab, Users can only use the websites I allow, under Web Filtering
- Click on Allow or block specific websites > Enter a website to allow or block, and enter the site addresses you want to block
This method might actually be quite effective, given that a lot of time is necessary to unblock those websites again. However, it’s certainly not convenient!
Block Websites from Your Mac
Macs are student favorites, but they can be just as distracting as the good old gaming PC unfortunately! However, the following steps should help you to block off all websites from your Mac that make you lose your focus often.
- Find Parental Controls under System Preferences and select your user account from the ensuing list
- Next, follow the path (on the right panel), Web > Try to limit access to adult websites > Customize
- Click the + button under the Never allow these websites option
- Add all websites you need to block and click on OK to finish
Block Websites from All Browsers with a Simple Extension
Instead of having to go through the hoops on all your devices, just install the BlockSite extension to block websites on all your devices where you use that browser. It’s perfectly compatible with Chrome and even allows scheduling to turn on and off the web blocking features automatically.
Block Websites/Apps on Android
Applications are easier to block now on Android, thanks to customizable notifications and permissions system built-into the OS, but you will still need to manually do that every time! BlockSite has an app for blocking disruptive app notifications as well. Other than that, the following method is also effective.
- Go through the path, Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced options > Change DNS settings
- Next, just enter the values: 208.67.222.123 for DNS 1 and 208.67.220.123 for DNS 2
- It does not work with mobile data though
Block Websites in Safari on iOS and iPadOS
All you need to do is follow the simple steps as mentioned below.
- Follow the path Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions > Web Content > Limit Adult Websites
- Next, tap Never Allow and just add the websites you want to limit yourself from accessing, before tapping Done
If you are a parent, then this could be the very thing your child needs, but if you are the student, then a degree of self-control will be necessary. Even then, studies have shown students to be less inclined to go through all the hoops of unblocking the blocked sites again until they have finished their work. It’s a simple deterrent that really does work to boost productivity and performance in academics today.
