Freedom - Blocking Yourself From the Internet

Let’s face it, sometimes we all need a little help focusing. Surfing the Internet is too tempting and we just can’t seem to get something done.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve focused on something only to be distracted by a link, IM, Tweet, e-mail etc…

Once I’m off my train of thought it’s hard to jump back on. Freedom is your solution to this problem:

Freedom is an application that disables wireless and ethernet networking on an Apple computer for up to three hours at a time. Freedom will free you from the distractions of the internet, allowing you time to code, write, or create. At the end of your selected offline period, Freedom re-enables your network, restoring everything as normal.

I tried this out recently and it’s surprising how focused I remain with no option of Internet at all. Freedom is extremely simple, there are only two dialogs.

A place to enter your password:

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And a place to enter the amount of time to disable your Internet:

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While Freedom is enabled, you have zero Internet connectivity. Killing the application doesn’t enable your connection, though interestingly your connection still unfreezes after your time allotment–even if Freedom is closed.

While some Terminal hacks could re-enable your network, the only way for most users to circumvent Freedom is a restart. The hope is restarting is annoying enough to keep you focused on your task.

If you chronically get side tracked, Freedom may be the solution for you.

On the other hand, a little self discipline never hurt anyone. Remove the temptation by just closing unneeded programs.

Except for MacTips–always leave MacTips up.

Freedom is donation-ware. It’s free to use–but if you find it useful a donation of $10 helps the coder.

Submitted on April 22, 2008 at 6:00 am - Freedom - Blocking Yourself From the Internet was written by Brad Jasper - There have been 1 comment - Categorized in Cool OS X Apps, Easy Tips, Productivity Tips

One Response to “Freedom - Blocking Yourself From the Internet”

Gary Morgan

After activating Freedom and I gathered myself and began to concentrate on a difficult project that had to be completed by the close of business. I thought, "now, I can finally get this project done." After about four minutes of wonderful quiet, the door bell rang. It was FedEx delivering a package. Not three minutes later a knock on the door. My neighbor needed some advice. A short while later a lawn mower started up outside my office window. Well, I turned off Freedom and started watching TV. Just Kidding! :-) April 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 am