If you’re someone who struggles to stay on task or simply want to boost your productivity as the new year approaches, there are several apps and extensions you can try that are designed to help you focus by blocking out distractions. 

Whether you need to limit social media scrolling or block off time to be productive, these tools will keep you focused. Here are some of the best options.

Freedom

**Image Credits:**Freedom

If you want to block distractions across all of your devices at once, Freedom is a good option. You can choose which websites and apps to block for a specific period of time. So if you’re working on your laptop and then try to open TikTok on your phone, you won’t be able to — you’ll instead see a green screen indicating the app is blocked.

The app lets you start a session right away, schedule an upcoming one, or set a recurring one. If you know you need to be free of distractions at a certain time every day, you can set up a Freedom session to start at that specific time automatically.

If your task doesn’t require internet access, you can block the internet altogether. You can also block all websites except the ones you need for work. If you really don’t trust yourself to get your work done, you can use the app’s “Locked Mode,” which prevents you from ending a Freedom session early. 

Pricing starts at $3.33 per month when billed annually or $8.99 per month when billed monthly, with a $199 lifetime subscription option. Freedom offers a seven-day free trial. 

Cold Turkey

**Image Credits:**Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey is a good option for people who need strict accountability. While many distraction blockers let you back out or “cheat,” Cold Turkey makes it nearly impossible to stop a block once you start it. 

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You can block websites and apps, or even the entire internet. Once you have selected what you want to block, you can set a timer for how long you want the block to run. After you have started the block, you can’t stop it.

Cold Turkey has a “Frozen Turkey” mode that locks you out of your computer altogether. The app also lets you schedule breaks to step away from your computer. If you don’t trust yourself with gentler distraction blockers, this might be the tool you need to stay focused. 

Cold Turkey’s basic features are free, but you can unlock scheduling and the option to block apps in addition to websites with a one-time $39 fee. 

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