iMaddicted is an app for iOS users who tend to use their devices a bit too much even in situations where they should be focusing on the task at hand, for example, during social conversations, driving, etc.

The app does all this work by using alert sounds and vibrations. When you pick your phone up for no reason, the app will tell you to put it back down or enter a pass code if you want to use it. You will think twice before picking it up mindlessly.

You can configure the pass code, audio alerts, and vibration alerts from the Configure menu found in the app.

Features

• Lower addiction of iPhone and impulsive usage of phone
• Focus more on tasks at hand – studying, driving, socializing
• An easy to use and very effective app
• Displays addiction level
• Share results on different social networks

Check out iMaddicted @ http://www.imaddictedapp.com/

SelfRestraint is a Python-based free to use open-source desktop application currently available for Windows and Linux, with a Mac version coming soon. The app simply lets you enter websites that you find distracting. You can then set a time duration for which these websites should be blocked. Internet access to other websites is still given. This tool will especially be helpful for people who blog and find themselves constantly on Facebook or YouTube instead of writing.

Features:

• A user-friendly desktop app.
• Compatible with Windows and Linux.
• Blocks distracting websites.
• Lets you set duration of block.
• Similar sites: FocalFilter, ColdTurkey, StayFocusd, MinutesPlease and KeepMeOut.

Check out SelfRestraint @ http://parker.kuivi.la/projects/selfrestraint.html

Page Snooze allows you to right-click on a page and choose how long you would like to have it sleep. You can choose anything from five seconds to two weeks. I’m not really sure why you would need to snooze a page for five seconds, but the option is there if you need it. The number of pages you have sleeping is shown on the extensions icon.

You can bring a page out of sleep by right clicking the icon and going to options. Here you will see all of your pages. Simply click on one and it will leave your sleep list and open as an active tab again. This extension makes managing tabs a while lot easier.

Features:

• Put tabs to sleep to keep them more manageable.
• Set sleep times ranging from five seconds to two weeks.
• Access all sleeping tabs in the options menu.
• Easy to put something to sleep, simply right-click the page and choose a time.

FocalFilter is a free to use desktop application for Windows. The app blocks any website you want for a set duration. The app’s setup file is sized under 2 MB and installs in a jiffy. With the app running you can build your list of blocked websites and set the block for a set duration.

While the block is active you cannot remove it; exiting or uninstalling the application will not help. To reset the block while it is active, you will need to reboot your computer. Thus even if you are tempted, you cannot access the blocked websites without rebooting your computer.

FocalFilter works with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari.

Note: FocalFilter does not work on systems that are running the Kaspersky Internet Security program.

Features:

• A user-friendly desktop app.
• Compatible with Windows.
• Blocks any website for a set duration.
• Works with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari.
• Similar tools: ColdTurkey, StayFocusd, MinutesPlease and KeepMeOut.

Check out FocalFilter @ www.focalfilter.com (By Umar from AllthatIsApple)

Cold Turkey is a freeware application for Windows computers. You start using the application by downloading its EXE setup file which is sized at less than 1MB. With the app installed, you can begin selecting the websites you want to be banned while you are working. The app offers you the ability to block many sites including Facebook, eBay, Reddit, and many more. You can always add more sites through their URLs.

Additionally you can specify the duration for the ban – you can specify till when the sites are banned. With your settings adjusted, all you need to do is click the “Go Cold Turkey!” button and you are all ready for work!

Features:

• A user-friendly desktop app.
• Compatible with Windows computers.
• Bans the websites you want to ban.
• Lets you define duration of ban.
• Helps increase productivity.
• Similar tools: StayFocusd, MinutesPlease and KeepMeOut.

Check out ColdTurkey @ www.getcoldturkey.com (By Umar from AllThatIsApple)

Decreased Productivity improves the browsing experience by allowing users to control the different elements on any webpage. Users can restrict images, animations, multimedia content and more from loading on a webpage. It even allows users to disable favicons, change fonts, set image opacity level, change background colors and more.

If you want, you can add websites to a blacklist as well which will automatically disable defined webpage elements on that specific domain. You can even add domains to a whitelist on which it will not cloak images and other multimedia elements.

Once installed, a small cup icon will appear in Chrome’s address bar. Just go to the extension’s options and select your desired settings. Now, all you have to do is open any website, click on the cup icon, and it will cloak the selected elements.

Features

• Simple and easy to use.
• Control webpage elements.
• Change background colors.
• Disable favicons.
• Add domains to whitelist/blacklist.
• Similar tool: BinarySwitchEclipse.

Check out Decreased Productivity @ chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nlbpiflhmdcklcbihngeffpmoklbiooj (via AddictiveTips) (By Hammad from TechnicallyDigital)

Acceleread is a very effective app for the iPad which allows the user to improve their reading speed within a few days. Not only that, but the user is also taught how to retain focus on the task (book) at hand, and ensure that they remember more of it; no more skip-backs to see what was going on.

The app also trains the user to avoid unintentional reading, and makes sure the reading is as productive as ever, keeping focus on only the important stuff and avoiding unhelpful stuff, which dramatically improves not only the reading speed but also decreases the time taken for that specific book to be thoroughly read.

Once the training is complete, the user can take the built-in app speed test which will tell them how fast they can read and also remember what they just read. This can also be helpful if you want to see whether the app is useful or not by measuring your reading speed before and after taking the training courses provided by Acceleread.

The app costs $7.99 and it worth it. A good news for all MakeUseof readers; Acceleread is giving away 10 Free promo codes to the first 10 people who comment on this post.

Features:

• Improve reading speed.
• Improve focus and ‘buffer’ memory of the mind.
• Make reading more productive.
• Take guided training courses.
• Allow users to test their reading speed.

Check out Acceleread @ www.acceleread.com (by Hammad from TechnicallyDigital)

Surf Control is a browser add-on for Mozilla Firefox. The add-on analyzes your browsing trends for the week and displays them as informative graphs. You get an informative graph explaining the time wasted and the time worked. Wasted time is based on sites like Reddit, Facebook, and YouTube. A pie chart along with a bar graph with time spent on each site is also displayed by the add-on.

To help you control the time spent on sites, the add-on lets you set time limits for individual sites or block sites altogether.

Features:

• A user-friendly browser add-on.
• Compatible with Mozilla Firefox.
• Lets you see time spent on various sites.
• Shows how much time you wasted on non-work sites in the week.
• Lets you block sites in your browser.
• Similar tools: StayFocusd and MinutesPlease.
• Also read related articles:

  5 Tools to Track How Much Time you Waste while Online
  5 More Excellent Ways to Waste Time Online

Check out SurfControl @ addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/surfcontrol (by MOin from Urban Savior)

Once installed, you must give the application authorization to access your Gmail account. Then it will redirect you to Emailga.me where it will open unread emails from your inbox one by one. Your task is to read and respond to it within 90 seconds. You can either reply to the email, skip it, archive, delete or boomerang it (boomerang archives the email and brings it back after an allotted time defined by the user).

If you complete the task before the timer is zero, you get points. If you want to stop the game, you can click on the pause button in the top left corner and close the tab/window. One thing which I don’t like about the application is that it automatically adds an email signature about the Email Game.

The service offers Professional and Enterprise plans starting from $10/month with more exciting features.

Features:

• Free and easy to use.
• Works with Gmail and Google Apps account
• Read and respond to emails in a productive manner
• Offers professional and enterprise plans

Check out The Email Game @ http://emailga.me or from Chrome Web Store @ https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ehbobaphhmjpchjknfpcnlhcbkjbclge?hc=hp-pr&hcp=pr1-3

nSpaces is a free to use desktop application. Sized at nearly 500KB, the app is compatible with Windows computers. After installing nSpaces you can access its preferences from its System Tray icon and edit the number of spaces i.e. desktop versions. You can name the spaces and select custom wallpaper for each one. The apps you open up on a space remain as they are when you switch back.

The app can be helpful for creating different spaces for work and entertainment that help you focus on what you are currently doing.

Features:

• A user-friendly desktop application.
• Compatible with Windows.
• Creates multiple versions of desktop.
• Lets you open different apps and view different wallpaper in each desktop version.
• Also read related articles:

  Split Windows into Multiple Desktops with WindowsPager
  12 Great Ways of Spicing Up Your Windows Desktop
  3 Simple Programs That Can Help You Manage Multiple Windows.

Check out nSpaces @ www.bytesignals.com/nspaces (by MOin from Urban Savior)