We all do it… you have 100 things to do, you write a list, get started then you think you’ll just check your phone. 5(0) minutes of wasted Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Candy Crush (insert platform of choice) you get back to what you were meant to be doing. Somehow this happens far more when there is lots to do, the numbing effect of the mindless scrolling stops you feeling overwhelmed about all that you have to do, until you stop when it returns with a vengeance.
There are lots of different tools that you can use to stop this but one of my favourites is called Forest. Forest is an app that locks your phone for a period (specified by you) and uses the time to grow a virtual tree. If you unlock the phone during that that period the tree dies. Now even though it’s a virtual tree this can still make you feel bad… I hate killing my trees. The more productive periods you do the more trees you get until you eventually have your own little forest. It’s really cool.
And if that’s not enough, with the premium version (£1.89 for Android, $1.99 for Apple) you receive coins for the virtual trees you grow which you can convert into real life trees planted on your behalf around the world. So you work smarter, get more done AND you plant a tree. At the time of writing there were 213,455 trees planted via the Forest. What’s not to love about this app?
There is also an extension for your browser which makes it possible to lock down specific sites to stop you straying. If you want to get focused, get forest! To find out more click here.