Instantly become more productive on your PC or phone with this app
If you ever struggle with getting more done on your PC or phone, it’s time to upgrade. There’s an app that helps boost productivity. The best part? You only need a few minutes of willpower to set it up and eliminate distractions. We’ll explain what it is and how it works.
NOTE: We used the pro version to make this evaluation, which costs $39. The pro version requires a one-time purchase and gives you unlimited updates for life.
Cold Turkey locks websites and apps
Productivity involves a lot of different factors, but one central point is Parkinson’s Law: Tasks expand to fill the available time. If you give yourself six hours to write an article, you will spend six hours writing that article. If you give yourself two hours to write the same article, it will take two hours.
Even with that understanding, distractions weasel their way in. The Cold Turkey tool allows you to block websites and apps by placing them on a block list.
Create a new block by clicking the Add a New Block button and inputting a website. Hit enter and the website will be added to the list. Once your list is filled with all the websites that usually distract you (bye social media!), you can save this list and close out of the window.
You can also click on the button to block applications. You can avoid certain explorers (such as Windows Photos), or you can choose to block applications. Later, you can see how much time you spend on anything you haven’t blocked. That’s where the power of Cold Turkey comes in.
You can track the time you spend on different sites and apps
Excellent, you’ve blocked some websites and apps that distract you. In a perfect world, we are 100% aware of what soaks up our time, but instead, we have the analytics board. The interface looks like this.
Websites you block will appear in a graph format (this is a fresh install of Cold Turkey Pro, hence the lack of a chart). You can change the date range after using Cold Turkey for a while to show you how much time you spent on a site or app in the previous week, then look at your improvements during the current week.
It works in your browsers as well
Once you launch Cold Turkey or Cold Turkey Pro, it will actively block websites and apps that you put on your block list. If you try to go to that site anyway, a customizable message pops up on a block screen.
For this to work, you must download the extension for your browser of choice. Typically this means Chrome, Edge and Safari. Once the plugin is installed, it connects with your Cold Turkey app and blocks out distractions.
You’ve quit, Cold Turkey
There is a free version of Cold Turkey, or you can unlock a lifetime pro version license for $39. It’s a one-time purchase that grants you access to updates for life. Cold Turkey doesn’t store or sell personal information and was created by a sole developer with a keen eye for security. Grab it here.
Tags: analytics, applications, apps, distractions, headphones, online, phone, photos, Productivity, security, social media, survey, updates, upgrades, websites