THE INTERNET is full of tools for blocking distractions, but Productivity Blocker isn’t one. A free tool for blocking work, the Chrome extension, released earlier this year, temporarily bars you from opening applications like Outlook, Dropbox and Slack. Sound counterintuitive? That’s the point. Its creators, Kory Brocious, an art director in Knoxville, Tenn., and Steven Nass, a copywriter in New York City, took issue with the glut of software meant to maximize one’s output. “We thought it would be fun to make the opposite,” said Mr. Brocious.
I’ve written about work and productivity, in some form, since 2010. Search Google for “distraction blocker” and the top result (after several paid productivity software ads) is a story I wrote earnestly recommending tools that force you to stop scrolling Twitter. When I heard about Productivity Blocker, a sort of riposte, I had to try it.
