How do I block distracting apps while studying for exams?

Updated 2026-10-29

Decide the rules before the urge shows up. List the apps and websites that pull you off your notes, block them for a fixed stretch of time with a tool you cannot switch off halfway, and cover every device you study near, since a blocked phone just sends the habit to your laptop. Study in set blocks with planned breaks, and keep the phone out of reach.

Why a promise to yourself does not hold during exam prep

The urge to check your phone tends to spike when the material gets hard. That is exactly when a rule that depends on willpower gives out, because you can renegotiate it in two seconds. A blocker you can talk your way out of is a suggestion.

Three things make a study block hold: the list is decided in advance, the length is fixed, and there is no easy way out. The rest of this page is how to set that up with bloq.

Build a study block list

A block list is a named set of apps and websites to restrict. Make one just for studying instead of reusing a general list, so exam-week sessions take a few taps to start.

Set it up on iPhone

Open the Block Lists tab and tap +.
Name the list something you will recognize on a bad day, like Finals.
Pick the apps and websites you want restricted.
Open the Focus tab, select that list, and you are ready to start a session.

What belongs on it

Social and short-video apps, the usual exam-week time sink.
Games and streaming.
Chat apps you do not need for studying.
The website versions of all of the above. A blocked app is one browser tab away from unblocked if you only block the app.
News feeds and forums you refresh without noticing.

Leave off anything you actually study with, like a flashcard app, an e-reader or your notes. You cannot edit the active list once a session is running with Super Strict Mode on, so check it before you start.

Run a session that ends when the timer ends

Pick a length that matches how long you can really work, not how long you wish you could. Then select your study list and turn on the Super Strict Mode toggle before you start the session.

You cannot pause the timer.
You cannot stop the session.
You cannot edit the active block list.
You cannot delete the app during the session.

Super Strict Mode cannot be disabled mid-session, so use it wisely. The upside is the whole point: while the session runs, opening a blocked app or site sends you back to bloq. There is no snooze button. The craving can come and go as many times as it likes, and the session keeps running.

When the timer ends, every synced screen is unblocked at once. A bloq ends when the timer ends, not when the craving does. For the basics, see What is a focus session and how does it work? and How Super Strict Mode Works.

Cover your laptop and your phone together

Most students study at a laptop with a phone nearby, so blocking only one of them just moves the problem. Sessions, schedules and block lists sync through your account between iPhone and Mac, and starting a session on one device blocks the other at the same moment.

On a Mac, websites are blocked system-wide. Switching from Safari to Chrome, Arc or any other browser does not get around it. More detail is in How to Block Websites on Mac (Every Browser).

One caveat for iPhone. When a session starts on your Mac, the iPhone is woken by a silent notification to apply the block, and iOS only delivers it under certain conditions:

Turn on Background App Refresh globally and for bloq, under Settings > General > Background App Refresh.
iOS never wakes an app you have force-quit, so do not swipe bloq away in the app switcher.
Low Power Mode can delay the wake-up.
Opening bloq always syncs and applies the block immediately.

If you want certainty, start the session on the iPhone as well, or open bloq on it once after starting on the Mac.

Schedule the blocks and cap the grey-area apps

The hardest moment is deciding to start. Scheduled sessions start focus sessions for you automatically, and schedules sync across iPhone and Mac. Set your usual study hours once and tomorrow starts itself.

Some apps sit in a grey area, like the group chat your study partners use. For those, a limit session watches how long you use the selected apps and websites each day. Once you pass your allowance (the site's example is 30 minutes), they are blocked for the rest of the day, until midnight, when the counter resets. On Mac, time counts while the app or website is active in front of you. On iPhone, Screen Time does the counting. If Screen Time limits have let you down before, read App Limits Not Working? Why Screen Time Fails (and What Holds).

For long sessions on a Mac, Bloq Screen shows full-screen eye breaks on your schedule. You look at something 20 feet away until the countdown ends. It is Mac only and included with bloq Mac. The reasoning is in The 20-20-20 Rule.

When this is not the right approach

If you might need to change the list partway through, get it right first or choose a shorter session. Super Strict Mode will not let you edit it while the timer runs.
If your main study tool is also your main distraction, blocking it will cost you the tool. Decide which matters more before you start.
bloq is for apps and websites. It does not plan your revision, so pair it with whatever timetable you already use.
If doomscrolling is the real habit, a block helps but the habit needs its own plan. See How to Stop Doomscrolling: 7 Tactics That Hold.

Try it

bloq locks distracting apps and websites on your Mac and iPhone at once. Start a session on one device and the other locks the same second.

Download bloq for Mac Get it for iPhone

Frequently asked questions

Can I end a study session early if something comes up?

Not with Super Strict Mode on. You cannot pause, stop or edit the session, and there is no snooze. Pick a length you can live with, and keep the list to distractions, not tools you might genuinely need.

Does it block websites on my laptop as well as my phone?

On a Mac, websites are blocked system-wide, so Safari, Chrome, Arc and any other browser are covered. On iPhone, you pick apps and websites in the block list the same way. Start a session on either device and the other is blocked too, subject to the iPhone caveats above.

Is it free, and do I need an account?

The site says it is free to start and that no account is needed to try it. Syncing between iPhone and Mac runs through your account. An annual plan exists, but the site publishes no prices or trial lengths.

My iPhone did not block when I started a session on my Mac. Why?

Check that Background App Refresh is on globally and for bloq, that you have not force-quit the app, and that Low Power Mode is not delaying the wake-up. Opening bloq on the iPhone syncs and applies the block right away.

Should I use a usage limit or a full focus session for exams?

Use a full focus session for your actual study blocks, because it holds for its whole length. Use a limit session for apps you only want to cap, like a study group chat, since it blocks them for the rest of the day once you pass your allowance.