What apps should I block to focus?

Updated 2026-10-29

Block anything you open out of habit rather than on purpose: social feeds, short-form and streaming video, games, and news sites. Leave off the tools your task depends on, like messaging you must answer, maps, banking, and calendars. Then split your blocks by purpose, such as work, study, and evenings, so each list is small enough to live with and strict enough to matter.

Start with one test: tool or slot machine?

Every app on your phone is either a tool or a slot machine. A tool does a job and lets you go. A slot machine is built so you pull the lever one more time. Your block list is the slot machines.

Run each candidate app or site through these questions:

Does it have a bottom? Infinite feeds and autoplay video never end, so you have to.
Did you open it on purpose, or did your thumb get there first?
Do you reach for it when the work gets hard? That is a dodge, not a need.
Is the task impossible without it? If yes, it stays off the list, no matter how it scored above.

If an app fails any of the first three and the task can live without it, block it. Be honest about the last question. Most apps that feel necessary are only familiar.

What goes on the list, category by category

Most lists come down to four categories, roughly in order of how much time they cost:

Feeds. Social networks and anything you refresh by pulling down. Start here, because this is where the unplanned half hour lives. For more tactics, see how to stop doomscrolling.
Video. Short-form clips first, then streaming and long-form video. Autoplay does the choosing for you. If you need video for work or lectures, use a daily limit (below) instead of a flat block.
Games. Easy to spot, easy to excuse as 'just one round'. Block them.
News. The sneakiest category, because it feels productive. Headlines refresh all day and none of them needs your answer before lunch. A good candidate for a daily limit.

Add the website next to the app. Most feeds and video services live in both places, and the browser version is the first loophole you will find. On a Mac, websites are bloqed system-wide, so Safari, Chrome, Arc and any other browser are covered by the same list. Details are in how to block websites on Mac.

Messaging is a judgment call. If people need to reach you for work, leave it off. If group chats are the leak, put them on your evening list instead of your work list.

How to name and split lists by purpose

Name a list after the session it serves, not the apps inside it. 'Social' tells you nothing at 9 a.m. 'Write the report' tells you what you signed up for.

Split by purpose rather than app type, because what counts as a distraction depends on what you are doing. A starting set:

Deep work. Feeds, video, games, news. Leave chat and email tools alone if the job needs them. For remote days, see blocking social media while working from home.
Study. The same core, minus any video you need for lectures. See blocking apps while studying for exams.
Wind down. Feeds, video and news, plus chat apps if late-night messages are the problem. This keeps the evening yours.
Offline. The broadest list you have, for dinner, family time or a weekend morning when nothing on your phone is urgent.

A few rules keep this from getting messy:

Start with two or three lists. Add more only when you hit a real gap.
Make every list complete on its own. You start a session with a list selected, so don't count on remembering to stack two.
Keep names short and start with a verb or a place: 'Write', 'Study', 'Wind down'.

How long each session should run is a separate question, covered in how long a focus session should be.

Block it outright, or give it a daily limit?

Some things are half tool, half slot machine: news, a video platform you also learn from, a chat app you need but over-check. A flat block is too blunt for those, and a limit you can dismiss does not hold. A limit session sits in between.

A limit session watches how long you use the apps and websites you pick each day.
Once you pass your daily allowance (say 30 minutes), they are blocked for the rest of the day, until midnight.
The counter resets every day at midnight. On Mac, time counts while the app or website is active in front of you. On iPhone, Screen Time does the counting.

Rule of thumb: block what you never need during a session, limit what you sometimes need. If the limits on your phone keep getting dismissed, read why Screen Time limits fail and what holds.

Putting the lists into bloq

On iPhone, building a list takes a minute:

Open the Block Lists tab and tap '+'.
Name the list for its purpose.
Pick the apps and websites.
Go to the Focus tab, select the list and start a session.

While the session runs, blocked apps and sites are redirected back to bloq. A bloq ends when the timer ends, and there is no snooze button. Turn on Super Strict Mode before you start and you cannot pause the timer, stop the session, or edit the active list. So build the list when you are calm, not mid-craving. More in how Super Strict Mode works and how to block apps and websites on iPhone.

Sessions, schedules and blocklists sync through your account between iPhone and Mac, and starting a session on one blocks the other. On iPhone that relies on Background App Refresh being on, and iOS never wakes an app you have force-quit. Opening bloq always syncs and applies the block immediately. Schedules can start sessions for you, which suits a list like 'Wind down'. If you are new to the idea, start with what a focus session is.

Review the lists after a week

First lists are wrong in both directions. You will block something you needed, or discover a new leak the moment the old one closes. After a week, note what you reached for and what got in the way, then edit the lists once the session has ended.

Remove only what actually blocked the task. Add the app you switched to as soon as your first choice went dark, because switching is the usual pattern. A list that only covers last month's habit leaks.

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

Should I block messaging apps to focus?

Only if you can afford to. If your job depends on quick replies, keep messaging off your work list and block feeds and video instead. If group chats are what pull you out of the evening, put them on a wind-down list.

How many apps should go on one block list?

There is no magic number. Start with the few apps you open most without thinking, then add whatever you switch to when those are blocked. A short list you stick to beats a huge one you resent.

Do I need to block the website as well as the app?

Yes, for anything that exists in both places. If you block only the app, the browser version is one tap away. In bloq you pick apps and websites in the same list, and on Mac the website block works across browsers.

Will my lists work on both iPhone and Mac?

Block lists sync through your account between the two, and starting a session on one blocks the other. On iPhone the wake-up depends on Background App Refresh and does not reach a force-quit app, so open bloq if the block has not applied.