It’s the ultimate catch-22.
You need your computer to be productive. But how often do you get distracted by all of those fun websites, applications, email alerts and other bells and whistles on this little device – only to end up doing everything BUT the job at hand? Let’s face it, in addition to being a killer productivity tool, the computer is also the greatest procrastination device ever invented.
Great Tool for Procrastinators: Concentrate
I came across this incredible little program this weekend and I couldn’t wait to blog about it today.
This program will actually let you block certain websites and applications and let others know you’re busy by changing your status on i/m or Skype. When you want to concentrate on a task at hand, create an activity (e.g. write Tuesday’s Chill Pill post) and choose actions to run every time you concentrate (e.g. block website, change i/m status, hide email notifications). When you’re ready to start, just click “concentrate.” All your distractions will disappear and as an added bonus, a timer will appear to help you stay focused.
The user interface is very simple – I love that there is nothing complicated to figure out – just simple dragging, dropping, and adding.
So does Concentrate work? Well, I used it to write this post – blocking the usual productivity sapping suspects: email, CNN/NY Times, Facebook, Twitter, HootSuite. And would you look at that – done in 12 minutes! You can get 60 hours for free, and after that it’s only $29.
Sadly PC users, for now, it’s only available on Macs.