3 Amazing ADHD Apps to reduce distraction
Struggling with maintaining focus is a typical challenge for those with ADHD.
You might often find yourself attempting to concentrate on a task, only to be drawn back to checking social media or emails.
The versatility of modern smartphones and computers, with their constant notifications and easy access to entertainment, makes it tough to stay focused.
If you often find yourself distracted by notifications, watching videos out of boredom, or scrolling through social media when you need to be productive, consider using those blocking apps. While not exclusively targeting ADHD individuals, these apps have features that can help reduce distractions for you.
They help enhance control over your impulses by limiting access to distracting apps and websites.
Let’s dive right in
Introducing distraction
What is distraction
Distraction happens when something pulls our attention away from what we’re doing or thinking about. It could be something external like noise, or something internal like feeling tired, which makes it harder to stay focused and alert.
How can distractions affect learning, working and memory?
Distractions can significantly impair learning, working and memory in several ways:
- Divided attention: When you try to learn or work while distracted, your attention is divided between the task and the distracting activity. This makes it harder to encode the information into memory, leading to shallower and spottier learning.
- Reduced working memory: Distractions tax your working memory, which is needed to hold information in mind and process it.
- Impaired reading comprehension: Distracted reading leads to poorer understanding of the material. Students’ reading comprehension, note-taking ability, test performance, and grade point averages all diminish when they try to learn while distracted.
- Reliance on habit memory: Distracted learning engages the brain’s habit memory system rather than the declarative memory system used for flexible, conscious recall. This makes the knowledge harder to consciously recall and apply in new contexts.
- Increased cognitive load: Distractions add to your cognitive load, making it harder to learn and remember new information. However, this effect is moderated by the difficulty of the material – when learning is very difficult, distractions have less impact.
The takeaway is that while some people believe they are good multitaskers, the research clearly shows that learning and memory suffer when you try to learn while distracted. Removing distractions, especially for challenging material, is essential for effective learning.
Why does ADHD often link to Distractibility
ADHD is often associated with distractibility due to the nature of the disorder, which affects attention and impulse control. People with ADHD may struggle with maintaining focus, regulating attention, and managing distractions, leading to increased vulnerability to external and internal distractions.
The symptoms of ADHD, including inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, can manifest in various ways, making it challenging for individuals to filter out irrelevant stimuli and maintain sustained attention on tasks.
Additionally, the heterogeneity of ADHD symptoms and the different sources of distraction, such as mind-wandering, external distractions, and unwanted intrusive thoughts, contribute to the distractibility commonly observed in people with ADHD.
Why an App can block distraction?
Using technology can be an effective strategy for ADHDers to manage distractions and enhance focus because of these reasons.
These digital tools provide structure and boundaries, such as blocking access to distracting websites and apps for set time periods, reducing the temptation to engage in distractions.
For example, in the Forest app, they leverage game-like mechanics and sensory inputs like white noise or calming sounds to create visual incentives and minimize external distractions.
By making it more difficult to exit focus sessions and access blocked content, these apps help break the habit of mindlessly scrolling through distracting sites.
Periodic reminders and notifications serve as nudges to maintain awareness of focus goals and encourage self-regulation.
The portability of these tools also ensures that we have access to them wherever we are, making it easier to establish and maintain focus habits.
Common Challenges for Those with ADHD
- Easily distracted
- Difficulty organizing and prioritizing
- Procrastination on starting tasks
- Challenges in maintaining focus on tasks
- Forgetting things in working memory
Features to consider in those apps
- Simple to use without overwhelming features
- Easy to access
- Can not exit the app-blockings session easily
Platform: Apple, Android, Windows
Function: Blocks access to selected websites and apps. Start a session, set your focus duration, and choose which distractions to block.
Benefits:
- Ease of Use: Freedom offers a pre-made list of common distractions to block, categorized by type like social media or news. Blocking a website also blocks the corresponding app.
- Features: Options include manual session override and a Locked Mode for non-interruptible sessions.
- Design: User-friendly interface with attractive visuals. Blocked sites display a calming message on a pastel background.
- Compatibility: Syncs across all devices, ensuring consistent blocking on both PC and mobile.
Platform: iOS, Android
Function: Promotes focus by visually growing a forest as long as the app remains open. Closing the app causes the trees to die, discouraging use of other apps.
Benefits:
- Simple Concept: Choose to focus with a timer or a stopwatch. The app visually represents time with tree growth, helping manage time perception.
- Features: Customize the app with personal reminders or motivational quotes that appear randomly.
- Cost-Effective: A one-time purchase of $2 USD.
Function: Increases the effort needed to open apps by requiring actions like taking a deep breath before use, promoting mindfulness and awareness of your habits.
Benefits:
- Simple Concept: Delays gratification by making you pause and reflect before accessing potentially distracting apps.
These ADHD-friendly apps are crafted to help manage distractions effectively, making them valuable for anyone looking to improve their focus and productivity
