Using an $8 smart outlet to avoid brainrot
90 comments
·June 22, 2025cardanome
orionsbelt
I quickly adapted and this barely slowed me down. I recommend the following iOS apps:
1. Jomo - you can create block lists of distracting apps. Like OneSec, when you try to open a blocked app, it makes you wait 5 seconds or more. More importantly, on that screen, you can select 5 minutes, so that it only gives you 5 minutes of unblocked access.
2. Brick - a physical device with an NFC tag you put somewhere. Block all the distracting apps on your phone. If you want to look at them, you need to physically scan the Brick with your phone to get back in.
busymom0
In a similar category is my Run for Fun app which lets you block addictive apps of your choosing until you earn screen time points by exercising (running, biking, exercising etc):
https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/run-for-fun-screen-time-focus/...
bapak
I tried it and it literally could not last one launch on my phone. The only action that can save me from Instagram is uninstalling the app. I have the web app installed but it's too slow to feed my addiction, so I rarely open it.
thingsilearned
I liked one-sec but now prefer https://www.getclearspace.com
spacemadness
Interesting. How does this work with iOS? It seems like something Apple wouldn’t allow.
elektor
It used the Shortcuts app to essentially be a middle man between you and the distraction. So everyone I open Safari, it triggers the other app (the 5 second timer), then redirects me back to safari.
HK-NC
Only works for one app with the free version.
cardanome
They have a 7 day free trial. Just cancel it immediately after setting it up so you don't forget it. You can still use the full 7 days.
Though it is 14,99 Euro per YEAR, so pretty fair pricing, anyway.
dsauerbrun
this seems like an interesting idea I'd like to try but all the permissions it needs is terrifying to me... I understand why it needs them but there's no way for me to verify that they aren't doing anything funny with that access.
dankwizard
Guarantee the OP used this for a week and never touched it again. Those without self control cannot be trusted if they hold the switch.
msgodel
I think you'd be surprised how a little bit of difficulty can be enough to break binge cycles. I killed both my hackernews and reddit addictions years ago by just adding them to /etc/hosts. It was easy to change and sometimes I did but that was enough that I didn't dwell on those sites anymore.
Recently I've written a chrome extension that does this much better. Hopefully it gets approved today or tomorrow. Maybe I'll post it to show HN.
SlowTao
Convenience is the biggest drug of them all, if you can break that then you can go a long way to breaking a habit. Even just putting up minor inconvenience can help slow the habit formed behavior.
If you have a food addiction, remove all the pre-packed easy stuff. If you have to cook a meal to get the calories, you now have a step speed bump to the habit. It doesn't mean you cannot eat, it just stops that grab and go mentality. Same thing with the fridges of the internet (social media).
sodality2
Similarly, convenience (reducing resistance) is the biggest factor in sticking to positive habits. Here’s an article on applying this to strength training: https://matt.might.net/articles/hacking-strength/
mrweasel
> I killed both my hackernews and reddit addictions
You can quit your Reddit addiction by commenting on Reddit. Reddits is a hellscape... I'd rather be browsing 4Chan.
hennell
Reddit is so dependant on the subs you're in. Some are pretty pleasant, some promote argument, some are just silly, some offer valuable advice. Any sub with too many people tends to deteriorate but there's loads of fun niche subs still.
danielscrubs
Your comment is on HN, you want to talk about HN, on HN.
How can we be sure you aren’t just an average guy when it comes to self reflection?
j45
/etc/hosts works great. A dedicated device for browsing such content is useful too.
mumbisChungo
Have you never willfully developed a habit before? I find the first week or two is challenging, then after that it's easy.
Jarwain
I find it has a lot to do with activation energy, or how much friction there is.
If something is too easy, it happens. If something is too hard/annoying to do relative to the reward, it doesn't.
When I lived in Boston, I was able to get myself to go to Tae Kwon Do classes because it was literally on my commute. When I'd work from home, I'd end up missing the class. When covid hit, same.
When I lived in Palo Alto, I rarely went to the city (and usually only when I could crash at a friend's place for the weekend) because the process of biking to caltrain, take caltrain, bike to wherever I wanna go, then reverse on my way home or catch an Uber, kinda ends up being an annoying or expensive process.
When I moved to SF, I went and partied what was probably more frequently than was healthy. Moving to Oakland brought the rate back down again, but to a level that felt a little too isolating. Getting a car seems to hit a sweet spot; driving isn't too bad, and I have a lot more options. Buuut being responsible for a car curbs the worse behaviors.
invalidusernam3
I've had a time limit set on my phone for twitter + instagram to only allow 15 minutes of usage per day. There's an "ignore limit" button when you go over the time but it's surprising how few times I've actually pressed it. 99% of the time I go "yep, that's enough of that for today" and close the app
motorest
> Guarantee the OP used this for a week and never touched it again. Those without self control cannot be trusted if they hold the switch.
It amazes me how much work one does to lift barriers to themselves, but so little to actually not go through them.
matt_s
Can switches like this also detect usage, like current flowing? It might be a fun and healthy twist to plug a walking pad/treadmill into a smart plug and then either make it so brainrot websites are only viewable when the treadmill is being used or make a small app that tracks the time the treadmill is used and then only allows that amount of time on brainrot websites.
stavros
Yes, a lot of them do. There are some $5 plugs I use that monitor current and work great:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005729080838.html
The price varies a lot between listings, I think the cheapest I got them was $20 for 4 or so.
seemaze
I've deployed countless Sonoff S31[0] which are easily hackable and have current monitoring capabilies
layer8
This would work (even?) better if it wasn’t a switch, but a push button with the unblocking automatically timing out after some interval. Otherwise you’re prone to just letting it stay on unblock.
The Amazon Dash buttons could be hacked to do something like that.
abound
Similarly: https://flic.io/
Little programmable buttons, they're great. I've used them for similar habit formation stuff, in my case not ignoring my alarm, by making the button the only way to shut it off, and putting the button very far away from bed.
mbreese
You could use a home assistant-like api to turn off the switch as well as manage the /etc/hosts changes. I don’t have any experience with home assistant, per-se, but I have programmatically controlled similar the switches with an older api, so I assume HA would work too.
neilv
At top of my uBlock Origin "My Filters" tab, I have a list of the Web sites like the following, which I comment (by prefixing each line with `!`) and un-comment, as needed.
||reddit.com^$important
||ycombinator.com^$important
If your addiction/habit is stronger, you might need to invest that $8.
diggan
Another approach is adding them to /etc/hosts as 127.0.0.1, which makes it slightly more cumbersome to edit and also stops muscle-memory from going CTRL+T then press "N" then down arrow then enter.
No, not for me personally, I'd never.
thingsilearned
I've used a similar smart outlet on a timer to just shut my wifi off at 9pm. I then put an alarm on my computer to give me a 15 minute wrap-up warning.
teddyh
I also hear that a rubber band on your wrist is useful for addiction.
rob_c
It's better than "I have to get off my arse" as it provides some real negative stimuli rather than appealling to sloth.
noman-land
How does this work?
NoPicklez
Whenever you get the itch to do something like open social media you pull on the rubber band and let it slap your wrist
noman-land
Love it. Great idea.
Huxley1
An $8 smart outlet helping reduce mental load and boost focus really surprised me. Looks like I’ve underestimated how much these small automation tools can free up mental space in daily life.
Has anyone else used simple and affordable tech that surprisingly made a big difference in managing distractions or mental fatigue?
Saigonautica
As a courtesy, I used to check in on client servers every morning to alert them if services were down. Eventually it became a chore, so I made some hardware server status boards that monitor them for me (8 each).
Here in Asia they cost 5-8$ each to make depending on exact part choice (total cost including boards and components).
I open sourced the hardware / firmware if you want some: https://github.com/seanboyce/servermon
I used to use scripts etc to do it. However this tells me what I need to know in a glance, so I like it better.
null
netsharc
My anti-distraction setup uses multiple dnsmasqs, one of them has a long list of blocked (ad-)domains, and DNS tags, something like this (1).
So the devices with the "black" tag have a different DNS server (it's the same computer, but it has 2 IPs), and has DNS-level ad-blocking (convenient for phones) and can't access reddit, Twitter, etc. One device doesn't have blocks, in case the aggressive blocking breaks something. I guess it'd be great to use a slow laptop to browse brainrot sites to discourage me from doing so.
(1) https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22467430/dnsmasq-tags-an...
warunsl
I have been using Foqos app since a month now and it’s been amazing on my iPhone. You can create a block list of apps and when you start “Foqos” those apps will be blocked. You have to unblock before using those apps. But here is the best part. The unblocking can be configured such that it does only when you tap on a NFC tag. I spend a lot of time on the phone as soon as I wake up. So I have been blocking before sleep and keeping the NFC tag in the garage. Amazing setup for me.
This app I assume is exactly like the more mainstream Brick app but this app lets you configure any off the shelf NFC tags which you can get under $5.
Theodores
How does this work?
Silly question, but I don't get it. Do you have to get something onto the smart outlet?
ELIF!!!
Jackim
The script on the computer checks to see if the smart plug is on or off. Depending on the state, the script blocks or unblocks the websites. The smart plug is just acting as a button that is connected to your WiFi.
parhamn
Pro tip for macos/ios folks:
- Macos: Install https://selfcontrolapp.com/, add every website and their alternatives you know, set it to 24 hours. Really hard to bypass this even if you know networking stuff
- iOS: Enable downtime 24/7 ask someone else to set the password.
I'm down to about 35 minutes a day of mobile usage, and laptop usage is only work related things. You really need two or three days to clear your head of news feeds. After a few days you really just crave working.
(I'm in between a 24 hour session right now)
One thing that finally worked for me was using: https://one-sec.app/
It basically forces you to do a little breathing exercise before you can visit the site that you have on its block list.
It has been life changing. It adds enough friction for me to stop any impulsive visits but also is not so annoying that I would completely disable it in a weak moment.
One Sec was developed by someone with ADHD, I think and it definitely shows.
It is important to understand that not every solution will work for everyone. There can be many reasons why you struggle with social media addictions. Ultimately those corporations are spending millions and employ state of the art psychological manipulation tactics to keep you engaged so it is important to be kind to yourself. Don't give up. You might find something that works for you.