GrivunHow to focus better
Focus is not a personality trait. It is what happens when the next action is clear and nothing is competing for your attention. Here is how to arrange both.
Why you cannot focus (and why it is not willpower)
When people say they cannot focus, three different things are usually happening at once, and none of them is a character flaw.
- The next action is not clear. "Work on the thesis" is not something a brain can start. Vague tasks feel heavy, and the feed feels light, so the hand reaches for the feed.
- Something is competing. A phone on the desk, a chat window, a tab with a red badge. Each one is a small pull, and the pulls add up.
- Every switch has a recovery cost. Coming back is not instant. Gloria Mark's research at UC Irvine found people take roughly 23 minutes to fully return to an interrupted task, and often finish other things in between.
The fix, then, is not "try harder". It is to make the next action obvious, remove the competition, and protect blocks long enough for the recovery cost to stop mattering.
Lever 1: decide the one thing before you sit down
Choose one task, and write down what "done" looks like for the next block: a paragraph written, a bug reproduced, twenty flashcards reviewed. The decision happens before the screen is on, because once it is on, deciding competes with everything else.
Before you open the laptop, write one line on paper: the next physical action. Not "work on the report" but "write the three bullet points for section two". If you cannot write it, that is the problem, not your focus.
Lever 2: remove the inputs instead of resisting them
Resisting a distraction costs attention every time it appears. Removing it costs attention once.
- Phone in another room. Not face down, not in a drawer: in a different room. A 2017 study led by Adrian Ward found that the mere presence of a phone on the desk reduced available working memory, even when it was switched off.
- One window, one tab. Close the rest. If you are afraid of losing them, bookmark the set and close it.
- Notifications off on the computer, for the length of the block. Chat can wait fifty minutes; if it truly cannot, agree that with your team and keep a single channel open.
- The sites you need, without their feeds. YouTube for a tutorial, X for one thread, Reddit for one answer: the search box is useful, the home feed is the trap. This is what Grivun's feed mode does, and it is free on one platform.
Lever 3: work in blocks with a hard edge
A block has a start, a length and an end you cannot argue with. It matters less which length you pick than that you keep it.
| Block | Best for |
|---|---|
| 25 / 5 | Starting when you do not want to. Anyone can do 25 minutes. |
| 50 / 10 | Most work and study. Enough to get somewhere. |
| 90 / 20 | Writing, coding, problem sets: things with a long warm-up. |
The break is away from the screen. Water, a window, a walk to the kitchen. Opening the feed on your break is not a break; it is a third interruption with a timer on it.
Lever 4: make the block hold when you are weak
The block works until the moment you decide it does not. That moment comes, and it usually comes twelve minutes in, when the task gets hard. Two things help:
- A "later" list. When an urge arrives, write it on paper and go back. "Check the order", "reply to Ana", "look up that actor". Most of it will not matter by the end of the block.
- A lock you cannot talk yourself out of. A focus session in Grivun blocks your chosen sites for 25, 50 or 90 minutes; in strict mode it cannot be paused or edited until the timer ends. Alt+Shift+F starts one. For sites you sometimes legitimately need, the intent gate asks what for, waits ten seconds and lets you in for five minutes: enough for real work, annoying on autopilot.
Focus sessions and feed mode are free. The strict lock, daily limits and schedules are Pro, and every install starts with seven days of it.
A 25-minute routine to start today
- Write the one thing and what done looks like, on paper, before the screen is on.
- Phone to another room. Close every tab that is not the task.
- Start a 25-minute block. A kitchen timer, your phone in the other room, or Alt+Shift+F.
- Urge arrives, write it down, go back. Do not evaluate it now.
- Break away from the screen for five minutes, then decide whether to go again. Two blocks in a row is a good day for the first week.
- "Just a quick check." The check is short; the recovery is not.
- Multitasking. It is switching, with the cost paid every time.
- A long to-do list on the screen. Twelve visible tasks are eleven invitations to switch.
- Relying on willpower against a feed that was designed by hundreds of people to beat it.
Questions
How long does it take to get better at focusing?
Most people notice a difference within a week of protecting one or two blocks a day, because the blocks remove the switching cost immediately. Getting comfortable with 50 or 90 minutes takes a few weeks of practice. See the attention span guide for a graded plan.
Does music help me focus?
It depends on the task. Music with lyrics competes with anything that involves reading or writing words. Instrumental or familiar music can help mask a noisy room. If you find yourself choosing songs, it has become the distraction.
What if my job requires me to be reachable?
Agree on response times rather than permanent availability. A 50-minute block with chat closed and a status that says when you will be back is compatible with almost every job. Emergencies have a phone number.
Is a website blocker not just a crutch?
It is a fence, and fences are how most people keep long-term promises. The point is not to need it forever; it is to stop paying the switching cost while you build the habit.
Try it on the site that costs you the most
Grivun is free for up to three sites and feed mode on one platform, with seven days of full Pro to start. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Add to Chrome — free