ToolboxHow to block distracting websites in Chrome on a schedule
Open Toolbox's Focus mode, press Block on the site you're on (or type sites into the Block list), then turn on Only during my schedule and set your hours, such as weekdays from 9:00 to 17:00. During those hours a blocked site opens a short pause screen instead, where you can go back or go in for a few minutes; a strict session takes even that choice away until it ends.
Free, with the schedule, strict sessions and daily limits.
Step by step
- Add Toolbox to Chrome. Install Toolbox from the Chrome Web Store, pin it to the toolbar, and sign in with Google or your email. The free plan needs no card.
- Open Focus mode. Click the Toolbox icon and open Focus mode.
- Add the sites. On a site you want to block, press Block and its name under This tab, or Only and a path to block just one section of it. Or type sites into the Block list and press Add; with an empty list you can start from the Social media, Video and streaming, News, Shopping and Games packs.
- Set your schedule. Under Schedule and pause screen, tick Only during my schedule and press Edit. On the Focus page's Schedule tab, add blocks of days and times, or start from a preset: Work hours, Evenings or All weekend.
- Open a blocked site. Toolbox shows a pause screen with your question and a short breathing pause (10 seconds by default). Press Go back, or after the pause go in for 1, 5 or 15 minutes; when the time is up, the site pauses again.
- Lock it with a strict session. When you need it, pick 25 min, 50 min, 1 h 30 min or 2 h under Strict session (or type the minutes) and start it. Until it ends, blocked sites won't open, focus mode can't be turned off and sites can't come off your list, in every browser on your account.
The full version is on the web: Focus mode in Toolbox, your block list, schedule and focus stats.
Good to know
- An entry covers the site and its subdomains. Add a path, like example.com/news, to block only that section.
- For deep work, the Focus page's Sites tab can block every site except an allowed list.
- Daily minutes per site (on the Pause screen tab) stops visits to a site once the visits you've chosen add up to that many minutes in a day, counted in each browser.
- Schedules use your computer's local time, and a block that ends before it starts runs overnight.
- Settings follow your account to every browser you sign in on, and each browser keeps a copy, so blocking works offline too.
- Import a block list from LeechBlock or BlockSite, or any list of sites, on the Focus page's Import / export tab.
- Stats count how often you were paused, turned back and went in, never the pages or their titles.
Questions
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Is it free?
Yes. Focus mode, the schedule, strict sessions, daily limits and stats all work on the free plan once you've signed in.
Can I still get to a blocked site?
Yes, on purpose: after the pause you can go in for a few minutes, then it pauses again. During a strict session you can't, and you can't end the session early, only make it longer.
Can I block only part of a site?
Yes. Add the site with a path, such as example.com/news, or press Only and the path on that page. The rest of the site stays open.
Does it work on Mac, Windows and Chromebooks?
Toolbox runs in Google Chrome 116 or later on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS. It isn't available for phones, where Chrome doesn't support extensions.